


The Darkness

by horsefeathers, snowflake123



Series: Catherine's World [2]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Assassins, Emotional Manipulation, Emotionally Repressed, Escape Attempts, Gen, Kidnapping, Memory Loss, Poisoning, Protective Siblings, Sibling Bonding, Threats, Violence, how to break someone, sedatives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-05
Updated: 2015-06-15
Packaged: 2018-01-21 20:31:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 26,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1563098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/horsefeathers/pseuds/horsefeathers, https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowflake123/pseuds/snowflake123
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor hasn't been the same ever since he lost the Ponds. He stays inside, refusing to leave, no matter how much Tara tries to convince him. Now, even she is filled with loneliness, now that Catherine's disappeared. What is she going to do now?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this a while ago but never got around to finishing it. Not done yet. Sorry

Tara was sitting in the slightly darkened control room of the Tardis, reading a book. She heard footsteps in the hallway and looked up to see the Doctor trying to sneak out the front door. Tara cleared her throat, he stopped.

"Going somewhere?" She asked. "Got an invitation from River, didn't you?"

He smiled. "Yes." Then he paused. "You can come. If you'd like."

"Sure, sounds like fun." Tara got up, then paused. "Wait, do I have to dress super fancy?"

"No." He said. "Just not a t-shirt and jeans."

Tara smiled. "I'll just pop down to the giant closet. But don't expect me to wear a dress." She was halfway down the hallway when she added. "And I'm glad you finally took River's offer. You've been needing this for awhile."

When Tara came back out, she had on some nice black pants, a blue button up shirt, a black blazer, and some nice black leather heeled boots.

"You look nice." The Doctor said with a sad smile.

"What's wrong?" Tara asked, concerned.

He kept his sad expression. "You just look so much like your sister.

"Oh." Her face fell a little as well. "Right."

"But let's try to not let that ruin our night." He forced a half smile and stuck out his hand. "River's probably waiting."

River was indeed waiting for them when they stepped outside. She smiled. "I'm glad you're tagging along too. This will make an even more thrilling evening."

Her long deep blue evening gown shimmered in the light. Tara smiled as well as River linked her arm through hers. The Doctor walked behind them, a grin slowly spreading across his face. When Tara glanced back, it gave her a bittersweet feeling. It had been awhile since she'd seen him smile.

It's was an upbeat party, lots of people smiling and chatting. The giant mansion in which it was being held was extravagant to say the least. All the people around her were dressed to the nines, making Tara fell just a little under dressed, but she didn't let that bother her. She was gazing around in wonder when River's voice snapped her out of it.

"So, what have you two been up to lately?" She asked.

"Oh, not much." Tara replied. "I've mostly been reading in the library. He, on the other hand," She remarked, gesturing back to the Doctor, who was busy explaining the origin of finger sandwiches to one of the other guests, who looked a bit uncomfortable. Tara cracked a smile. "He hasn't gone very far from the control room. Quiet, mostly. I wished he would've at least talked to me about it instead of just the passing remark as he passed me." She sighed. "I wish you could've stayed."

"I know." River tried to be comforting. "But like I said before, I don't think I would be much help."

"You got him here."

"Yes, but that took a lot of persuasion and bribery." She gave a mischievous smile. "I think we should go get him before he drives any of the other guests up the wall."

Tara nodded but when they turned around he was nowhere to be seen. "Where's he gone this time?" Tara sighed.


	2. Chapter 2

After the woman he had been talking to got bored and excused herself, the Doctor had wandered off through the crowd. The party was nice, but every time a happy memory would begin to surface, a painful one would replace it. He sighed, if only. That's when he saw it. A familiar shade of brown. Dark brown waves, falling down over confident shoulders and a tall, shapely, slightly muscular frame draped in a shimmering long black dress. Cautiously he made his way through the crowd. But she was moving away, towards the hallway. Hastening his steps he inched closer, easing through the crowd. Finally, he caught up to her. "Excuse me." He said quietly.

For a second, she didn't notice him and kept walking. But then she stopped, head tilted towards his voice. Slowly, she turned, her dress flowing with her. Slightly pained green-brown eyes gazed into his. "Hello father." She said calmly.

"Catherine." He just managed to get out. "What are you doing here?"

She narrowed her eyes. "No, I wasn't invited if that's what you're asking. Anyway, I don't want to talk to you, I came here for a reason." She turned to go. He caught her shoulder but she shrugged him off.

"Please Catherine, just talk to me." He begged.

She spun around. "Fine. But not here."

She turned around the corner where there was no one around. He followed her around the corner where she stood, leaning up against the wall with an angry look on her face. "So," He asked quietly, trying to be comforting. "What happened?"

Catherine's demeanor went from slightly perturbed to genuinely pissed off. "What happened?!" She snapped, standing up. "What, happened?! You know very well what happened!"

The Doctor tried hard to keep his voice calm. "No, I don't. How could I, you just disappeared."

"No, I didn't."

"What?"

"I didn't leave."

Before he could answer, she continued. "Not by choice."

His face grew even more confused.

"I was kidnapped. The same people who took Tara." Catherine calmed down a bit and moved over to an armchair, where she sat down. The Doctor sat down opposite her.

"Will you tell me what happened?" He asked, leaning in.

"I suppose." Catherine sighed.

-

Catherine had gone out by herself, as she often did when they landed on Earth and had nothing to do. This time, they were in Cardiff. "Typical." Catherine said as she stepped outside and confirmed her surroundings. But, even so, she was having a nice walk. "That's funny." She thought to herself after a while. "Where is everyone?" It was the middle of the day, but there was no one around where she was. Already, she was blocks away from the Tardis had landed. "Maybe I should go back." She thought out loud. But she countered herself. "Come on Catherine, don't be so paranoid. You can take care of yourself just fine without their help." Catherine scoffed and started walking again. But her instincts were still on edge. Then, she approached the opening to a dark alleyway, just wide enough to fit a car into. And when she passed it, she could just barely make out a black van in the darkness. Now her senses were screaming at her. But it wasn't until she heard the noise, the quiet sound of a car door slowly opening that it registered to run.

By that time, two men had jumped out of the van and were after her with another following behind. Catherine ran as fast as she could, but they had already got a head start due to her delayed reaction. One of them caught up to her and tackled her to the ground. Though, when he tried to pin her down, she kicked him in the head, hard enough to stun him and began to get back on her feet. But as soon as she did, the other two had caught up as well. Again she found herself on the ground and a sickly-sweet smelling cloth placed over her nose and mouth. It took all three of them to hold her down, but once they did the chemical on the cloth began to make the world spin. At first Catherine tried not to inhale it by holding her breath, but that didn't work for long. Soon, she had to breath, and when she did it worked fast until the world slipped away.

.. 

She kept going in and out of conciousness. When she was awake she felt weak, and she hated it. Also, she could tell she was moving, in a vehicle of some sort. That, and the fact she was restrained, was all she could tell before she blacked out agian. One time, it seemed like she was going to come all of the way out of it. Her vision was sharpening, and the fogginess in her head was clearing, But as soon as she thought she was awake a man who was sitting behind her head moved over to sit next to her. Catherine rolled her head to see. He was wearing a black suit and red tie. He looked surprised. "You're awake. That's interesting." He moved to reach into a drawer. "But." He removed a vial and syringe. "We can't have that."

Catherine set her jaw. "Who are you?"

"I'm not important."

"Alright then, who do you work for?"

He poked the needle into the vial and slowly measured out the amount. "You'll be meeting him quite soon."

"Him?"

He didn't answer her question. "Hold still." He gripped her wrist tight.

"No!" Catherine pulled back as hard as she could, but apparently she was still quite weak and he was able to hold her and insert the needle into the crook of her arm. Catherine bit her lip and stopped struggling. It didn't take long until the world began to spin once again and her head got heavy. Slowly, her eyes closed and she slipped out of consciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

She was so tired. Everything was sore and she still felt weak as a kitten. Her head hung and when she finally came to she was in a dimly lit room with a gag in her mouth and her wrists strapped to a chair. Catherine tried to lift her head and found it surprisingly heavy. Blinking hard, she tried to fight the exhaustion. She groaned.

"Careful. That sedative we gave you was enough to put down a horse."

Catherine narrowed her eyes at where the voice came from. A man stepped out of the shadows. He was fairly good looking and charming, in a smart ass sort of way. But the thing that jolted Catherine the most was the black eye patch on his left eye. Catherine tried to say something but the gag on her mouth prevented it. The man noticed and gestured to one of the men standing behind her.

"Remove the gag. Really, was that necessary?"

The man did as he said and removed it. Catherine had sharpened up a bit to the point that she could put together a sentence. "Who are you?" She mumbled.

"They call me Jackson."

Catherine blinked hard again. "And who exactly is "They"?"

"My employers."

"Yeah. And I've already worked out who they are."

He raised his eyebrow.

"The Silence." Catherine continued.

"That would be correct." He smiled.

"But why would you want me? I'm not important."

"Oh, I don't know about that. The Doctor's daughter could be quiet useful to me."

Catherine scoffed. "The last person who tried that did not end up very well off."

He nodded and began to step closer. "Yes, well, Knightly was always a bit daft in comparison."

Catherine was shocked, and didn't even try to hide it. "Knightly? She's a part of this too?"

"Yes, but she was always an idiot. Of course her plan wouldn't have worked, she forgot that time was a key ingredient. But she always loved to rush things." He smiled. "But now she's a dead idiot. And I know how to take my time."

Catherine ignored the last part. Anger was building inside her. She did her best to level him with a stare. "Yeah? And who do you think took her out?"

"Interesting." He looked away and began to pace.

"What?" Now Catherine was curious.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just the fact that you thought we didn't know that already."

This made Catherine nervous.

He continued. "Unlike Knightly, I did my research." He paused and looked her in the eye. "Artemis."

Catherine's eyes widened. "How do you know that?"

"Like I said, I do my research." He began to pace again. "You know, I would think that you, being an assassin, would have been better at defending yourself. It didn't take very much for my men to bring you in. Perhaps you've lost your touch?"

Catherine's face turned serious. "That's not who I am. That version of me was cold and unfeeling. She was a monster and I never want to see her again."

He smiled evilly. "Well, that may pose a problem. Because, you see, that's who I want. The assassin." He came close to her, only about a foot away. "And I always get what I want. That's what I'm good at."

"Oh yeah." Catherine gritted her teeth and leaned in as close as she could in her bonds. "Well not this time." She sunk back into her seat.

He just stood there, not moving. And then he did something she never expected. He laughed. It started as a quiet chuckle then turned into deep throat-ed laughs. It wasn't an annoying laugh, actually it was quite pleasant. But it made Catherine nervous.

"What's so funny?" She demanded.

"Nothing." He said between chuckles. "Just that you think you have a choice." He calmed himself down. "You see, with your sister the process was shortened, that's how come you were able to get through to her and stop her. Granted it wasn't that hard to break her in the first place. But with you I can take my time, make sure you never come back."

"You'll never convince me to hurt my family." Catherine tried to keep her voice from shaking.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that. I can be very persuasive." He paused, then added. "Oh, and they'll never find you here. This compound is practically invisible."

Before Catherine could respond, he looked back to the man behind her. "Please take her to her room now. I have business to attend to."

The man nodded and Jackson left. After he did, the man pressed a button on his radio and requested back up. When it arrived, it was two men, the first reapplied the gag on Catherine's mouth, which she wasn't very happy about. Then the other two secured each of her arms while the first unwrapped her wrists before handcuffing her. Then, they carted her off to her room.

Of course Catherine tried to put up a fight, it just wouldn't be in her nature not to. But, the men who had a hold of her had surprisingly strong grips on her arms. The gag on her mouth was really beginning to piss her off. When they came to a steel door in the hallway, they stopped, and the man who had been behind Catherine brought a key out of his pocket and unlocked the heavy door. Once he had opened it and removed the gag and handcuffs, Catherine was shoved unceremoniously through the door and it was slammed shut and locked behind her. "Hey!" Catherine yelled and pounded the door. She grimaced and swore under her breath. Turning, she looked around the room. It was fairly nice, a comfortable made bed, a dresser, a side table, and a desk. "Hm." She thought aloud. "That's different." She moved over to the bed. It was comfy. She frowned and wondered why they had given her such nice accommodations. This wasn't at all what she had expected.

-

"I soon found out why." Catherine turned back to the Doctor. She closed her eyes. "They wanted to train me. But first they had to break me." She looked him in the eyes. "The same thing they did to Tara. He hurt me, but psychologically and physically. But the entire time, the only thing I could think was, they did this to my sister too." Catherine's face turned stone cold. "But it made me stronger."

-

She was in training, and right now she was beating on a trainer. She showed almost no emotion, except for anger. The trainer on the other hand, looked pretty startled. She hit him again, and again, and again, until he looked like he was about to fall on his ass from exhaustion. Then she paused and turned around. The man thought she was letting up and tried to take a shot. Catherine whipped back around with a roundhouse kick and caught him across the head, laying him on the ground. She produced a blade from her boot and came down with a knee on his chest, a hand pinning him down by his shoulder and pressed the tip of the blade up against his throat. Slow clapping came from behind her.

"That was fantastic darling." Came the voice. Catherine sheathed her blade and let the man up. She turned, her expression  not at all pleased to see him. Jackson was leaning up against the wall, watching her. She began to walk towards the door.

"What do you want?" She said sourly. Ten months with this jackass had done no favors on her outlook on him.

He stood to follow her. "You've improved brilliantly in the last few months." Catherine still said nothing. "I'm sure you'll soon be ready to go on a mission."

Catherine spun around. "Fine. I don't give a shit. As long as it gets you to go away." Then she stormed off to her room. Once she was out of earshot, she muttered to herself. "Because you won't be around much longer."

She lay on the carpeted floor of her room, preparing herself for what she was about to do. Catherine opened her eyes and sighed. But this seemed to be the only way. She had calculated that the door to her room was open from 10 am to 8 pm. It was just past twelve and the compound had quieted down. Catherine stood, walked through the door and peeked out. The hallway was barren, not a person in sight. She made her way into the training room where the lights had been turned out since she had left. That didn't matter, she could make her way through the darkness just fine. A guard always came around this time, so she found a dark corner and waited. It didn't take long for him to make his round, so she waited until he passed her to step out.

"Hello."

He spun around. Of course he was armed, and he pointed the handgun at her chest. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in your room?"

"I went for a walk, it gets boring in there." Catherine gazed around. Her calm demeanor put him off and he began to lower his weapon. Catherine smiled, whipped around, and kicked the gun out of his hands. His shocked expression didn't faze her, and she moved quickly, pulling the blade out of her boot. She kicked him to the ground and plunged it into his chest, covering his mouth as well to keep him from crying out and alerting the rest of the compound. But she was too late, a scream escaped his lips before she could muffle it.

"Damn." She stood up after removing the blade, and bent down to pick up the gun. She checked the cartridge before cocking it and cleaning her blade. She stood, took a deep breath and prepared herself. "Here we go."

 -

Someone had pulled an alarm, and the area was flooded with red lights and the sound of many pairs of running feet. Catherine grimaced, this was not going as she had planned. She ran out of the training room and out into the corridor, slipping the blade back into her boot and holstered the handgun in her belt covering it with her jacket. She kept running down the hallway, not knowing where she was going. They hadn’t let her go very far from her room and the training center. It wasn’t long until she ran into another guard. He pulled his gun on her.

“What are you doing this far from your room?”

Catherine rolled her eyes and turned around.

“Turn around! Answer the question!” He barked.

Catherine spun around and quick as flash, kicked the gun out of his hands. As it skittered away, she grabbed his shirt and pinned him up against the wall, drawing her blade. “Where’s Jackson?”

“Where do you think he is?”

“I asked first.”

He leaned in. “Not telling.”

“Then you’re no use to me.” Catherine took the blade and ran it across his throat, quick and fast, then let him drop to the floor. Then she went through his vest and found a map of the complex, Jackson’s office was on it. Catherine folded it up and put it in her pocket.

-

She had memorized the route, and now she followed it. Every once and a while a guard would pop up, and she would easily dispose of them. By the time she reached her destination, she had a streak of blood on her face, but not a scratch on her. Her demeanor was that of an angry tiger, and she kicked down the metal door to the office with such force that it tore it off its hinges. Jackson jumped a little when it came crashing down. He was sitting at his desk, but stood up when she entered. “Yes,” He said calmly. “I heard someone had been on a little rampage in the north corridor. Why don’t you have a seat?” He gestured to a chair.

Catherine clenched her jaw. “I’m not here to talk. Try retribution.” The she noticed him bending down a bit to reach for something under the desk. Lightning fast, she leaped over the desk and flung him up against the wall. “I don’t think so.” She growled.

“Very good. But I don’t think for very long.”

“What?” Catherine’s grip tightened.

“You see, we already sent out the distress signal. Game over.” He smiled.

“I guess I’ll have to be quick then.” With one arm Catherine pulled over the chair, and with the other sat him down in it and tied his wrists with the telephone cord. Then she pulled out the gun and aimed it at his head. “This isn’t nearly what you deserve, but I’m afraid I don’t have time to deal out what you do.”

He chuckled. “Then at least I’ll die happy, knowing I’ve won.” He leaned in. “You’re a monster.”

Catherine’s face was stone cold as she placed her finger on the trigger. “You made me this way.”


	4. Chapter 4

 Catherine sighed. “And I killed him. And everyone else that got in my way. Sure, I escaped, but at a cost. And the cost was me.”

“-Doctor, you can’t just keep wandering off like this. You’re going to get in more trouble than-.”

Tara stopped in the middle of her sentence as she rounded the corner. The Doctor stood up abruptly and turned to look at her. Catherine stood after him, but more calmly, her expression just as calm. “Hello Tara. It’s been awhile.”

“Catherine?” Tara’s look was split between shock, happiness, and terror.

“Yes, it’s me, were you expecting someone else?” Catherine gave a bored look. Then her gaze shifted over to the Doctor. “And no, I’m not repeating the entire story just for her benefit.” She began to walk back out into the party. “And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

Tara tried to stop her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Catherine please.”

Catherine brushed her hand off and spun around. “No.” She said, then turned and walked briskly away, disappearing into the crowd.

“Oh no you don’t.” Tara growled.

Tara pushed her way through the crowd. So focused on getting through, she almost didn’t notice when there was a crash from down the hall. Only when she heard screaming did she stop and listen. She tried to push the image out of her mind, that Catherine was responsible. No matter what she’d seen her sister do in the past, she refused to believe Catherine was beyond help. Instead, she ran towards the noise, dodging the panicking guests as she went. Then, as she was running, quick as a flash, an arm reached out and grabbed her by the wrist, yanking her into an empty corridor. She stared into the face of Catherine. But she looked different, scared, even jumpy. She would even go as far as to say that Catherine looked terrified.

“Let go of my wrist!” Tara pulled her arm back. In return, Catherine slammed her hand over Tara’s mouth.

“Shut up.” She hissed, the fear bleeding through. Tara narrowed her eyes and grumbled in protest. Catherine glared at her. Tara shut up. Soon, the screaming died down and it became eerily quiet.

Catherine slowly removed her hand from Tara’s mouth.

“What’s going on?” Tara whispered.

Catherine held up her finger and peeked out. There was no one around. She pulled her head back in. Looking Tara straight in the eyes she said, “They’re here.”

“What?” Tara asked, very confused. “Who’s here?”

“It doesn’t matter. You need to leave. Now.”

Tara opened her mouth to retort when a man's voice rang out. “Come out, come out, wherever you are. We know you’re here, so why don’t you just make my job much easier and surrender.”

Catherine frowned.

“What do they want?” Tara whispered.

Catherine gave her an incredulous look. “Pay attention.” She whispered. “They want me.”

“Why?”

“Because I got away.”

The man spoke again. “I’m getting impatient.” He paused. “Would you rather I send my men to find you? Or perhaps we could start killing some of the people. They should be around here somewhere.”

This time Catherine could not hold her tongue. “You know very well that I don’t care about their lives.” She said, loud enough for him to hear.

“Catherine!” Tara whispered. Catherine held up her hand.

“Go get her.” The man said to the two men on his right. Catherine heard his command and quickly turned to Tara. “Go. Down the hallway. Find the Doctor and get out.” She reached down and pulled up the skirt of her dress, revealing a thigh holster and a revolver, which she removed from the holster and checked the bullets before cocking.

“No.” Tara said. “I’m not leaving without you.”

“God, you’re difficult.” Catherine groaned. “Fine then.” They could hear footsteps coming closer. Catherine turned to Tara. “Run.”

They ran through the hallways and down the corridors. Suddenly, Catherine stopped around a corner and pushed Tara behind her. The revolver in her hand was still at the ready. Catherine peeked out to see where their pursuers were. Her answer was a bullet whizzing past her head. She quickly ducked back behind the wall.

“Why are they shooting at us?!” Tara was beginning to panic.

“Oh, calm down.” Catherine scolded.

“Calm down?! They’re trying to kill us!”

A few more bullets whizzed passed or hit the corner. Catherine turned and fired two rounds around the corner before rolling back over and saying to Tara. “I’m sure they have orders that if they can’t capture me alive, they’re supposed to…” Catherine trailed off, not meeting Tara’s gaze.

“What?” Tara pressed.

“They’re supposed to take me out.”

Tara swallowed hard. “But, you can just regenerate, right?”

“I’m sure they’ll figure out a way.”

Tara looked down at her shoes. “What are we going to do?”

Catherine peeked around the corner once again then looked back at Tara. “I don’t know about you, but I know what I’m going to do. Fight.” Catherine jumped out from behind the wall and let off one round after another in quick secession. Tara thought she might make it to the other side, but suddenly Catherine ran out of bullets. The gunfire from the other side returned and Catherine was hit twice in the chest, knocking her to the ground, where she lay, not moving. The barrage stopped and the sound of multiple footsteps moving away told Tara it was safe to come out. She rushed over to where Catherine lay, her hearts pounding.

“Catherine! Come on, get up!” She shook her. So great as her panic, she didn’t notice the lack of blood. She just sat there in shock. Suddenly, Catherine groaned. She slowly opened her eyes. “Are they gone?” She asked.

“But, but.” Tara stammered. “You got shot!”

Catherine sat up and pulled down the front of her dress, revealing a vest underneath, then pulled it back up. “I’m wearing kevlar dumbass.” She said, pushing herself up. Tara gave her a dirty look.

Catherine ignored her. “Now, we really need to leave.”

Tara nodded.

-

They had moved back towards the main foyer, where River, the Doctor, and a few of the other party guests were slowly making their way towards the doors. They turned to see Tara and Catherine make their was towards them. River was the only one not surprised to see Catherine. “Catherine, nice to see you.” She smiled.

“Hello River.” Catherine said politely, with a hint of warm familiarity, like they shared a secret.

This made Tara suspicious. “What’s going on between you two? What haven’t you been telling me?” Her last question was aimed towards Catherine.

She only smiled. “Spoilers.”

Tara scowled. “Tell me.”

Catherine’s original hostility returned. “No. It’s none of you concern, so leave it.” She turned toward the Doctor. “You should get everyone out. Quickly. There are people here that would jump for joy if they knew you were here. I’ll be fine.”

“What?!” Tara exclaimed. By this time, they were the only people still inside. “Oh no you don’t, you’re coming with us too.”

“No Tara, I’m not. These people will not leave you alone until I take care of it.”

“Well I’m not leaving you.”

“No, you’ll just slow me down.”

“But- ”

“No Tara!”

Catherine’s outburst scared her. Suddenly, she made the connection. Her hostility, her disappearance, the constant look in Catherine’s eyes, like barely controlled anger just under the surface. She’d seen her sister like this before, when she had seen her scream at the Doctor, that woman, the arrow…

“Catherine, please, you’re scaring me.”

The fire in her eyes subsided, but Tara could tell it was still sending up sparks. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.” She glanced back at the Doctor. “Get them out.” Then she turned and disappeared into one of the many hallways.

-

"Tara, she's right." The Doctor tried to persuade her.

"No! I won't let her leave. Not again."

"I want her back as much as you, but she's grown. She can take care of herself."

"That didn't stop them! What happened to her dad? I know she told you."

"She had been taken, by some very bad people. But she's alright now."

"Alright?! How could you look at her, just now, and say 'She's alright.'? Tell me?"

He sighed. "I don't know. But we still have to take River home. She'll come back when she's ready."

Tara sighed as well. She knew this was one argument she could not win. "Alright." She said, and followed them out.


	5. Chapter 5

The hallways were quiet, but Catherine knew they couldn't possibly be empty. The men who were after her wouldn't give up that easily and neither would she. Stopping in one of the bathrooms, she slipped off her ruined dress, showing the fitted kevlar vest and fitted black knee pants she wore underneath. Her heels had been discarded long ago, and now she slipped on the thin but protective fabric shoes she had in one of her many pants pockets. Once she was satisfied with her outfit, Catherine began her search for the offending party crashers.

It wasn't long until one of the little shits showed their face. When he saw Catherine his face went slack, and he ran back around the corner like his life depended on it. Catherine smiled quietly to herself and took after him, her feet silently flying down the corridor. She rounded one last corridor and skidded to halt along with the man as he realized she had him cornered. Catherine smiled viciously. “End of the line soldier.” She said triumphantly. “Now where are your little friends?” She asked.

“They’re right behind you.”

Catherine turned, but not in time. Now she was the one in the corner. “A trap, how sophisticated of you, I’m impressed. But I’m still not gonna give up and lie down.”

The same man who had called out for her surrender earlier stepped forwards. “I’m sure you won’t.” He pulled out a pistol and fired. Catherine was able to dodge the first hit, but the man she had cornered got it in his head that it would be a good idea to try and tackle her. She turned just in time to catch his rush and drop-kicked him across the floor. But the man fired again, and this time the charge hit her square in the back. The shock dropped Catherine to her knees, her muscles filled with exhaustion.

“Really!” She shouted to best of her ability at the moment. “A stun gun!?”

“I’m afraid so.” He patronized her.

“Oh, bite me.” Catherine collapsed the rest of the way to the floor, her head thudding hard against the floor, but she didn't go out. They knew the stun charge was only temporary as much as she did, but there wasn't much she could do about it, as at least five men stepped forwards and pinned her to the ground. The man squatted down next to her, a disappointed look on his face.

“I’m sorry it had to be this way.” He said.

Catherine refused to meet his gaze, sure it was a touch childish, but she didn't really care. “No you’re not.”

He shrugged and removed a syringe from his coat, uncapping the needle and firmly but gently pushing her head to the side. The men holding her held even tighter, though Catherine was sure she wouldn’t be able to move anyway. The needle bit into her skin and Catherine could feel herself slipping away as he pushed the plunger down, until she was gone.

..

Blackness was Catherine’s greeting as the room slowly swam into view, and a throbbing headache pounded against her skull. She tried to reach up and soothe it away, but she found her arms strapped to a table of sorts, along with her ankles and waist. Dim lights on the ceiling slowly faded into the picture, and she began to increasingly regain her senses, though the debilitating headache persisted.

“Can’t you guys ever find an anesthetic that won’t give me a headache afterwards?” She commented, still processing her surroundings.

“I’ll have to connect you with a customer service representative about that,” The man said, stepping out of the shadows. “That is, if you’ll still care.”

“And just why, pray tell, would I not care?” Catherine craned her head to look over at him.

“Well, it’s kind of hard to file a complaint if you can’t remember what you’re complaining about in the first place.”

“What?!” Catherine’s expression was now wavering between shock, curiosity, and dread.

“You see, in the past, we've gone about it the wrong ways. Made mistakes, but thanks to you, we've learned from them.” He gestured with his hand, and began to pace around the room. Catherine hated when they did that, she could tell they knew they were winning. “First off, you've got Knightly; she took your sister, did a shoddy wipe job, filled her head with lies, then pushed out her little nuclear reactor to do some damage. Sure enough, it all collapsed on top of her. Family and love and all that stuff. And you know how the rest goes.” He paused, giving her a knowing look before continuing. “Then, you have Jackson. Now he had the right idea, breaking you first. But he made one mistake, just one. And you turned on him in one of your heartbeats.” His expression suddenly hardened. “I knew Jackson. He was a fool, but also a friend.”

Catherine expected him to lash out at her, so when he didn't she was surprised. Instead he smiled.

“But now instead of our obstacle, you will be our new weapon.”

“And just how do you think you’re going to get me to hurt my family?” Catherine asked him with narrowed eyes. “You’ll never get me to hurt the Doctor or Tara, either one.”

“My dear, soon you won’t even remember who they are to you. Except targets.” He stopped, and looked to the people in lab coats behind Catherine. “Start the sequence.” He ordered.

“No!” Catherine yelled, pulling hard at her restraints as her head was pushed back onto the table and a strap was tightened across her mouth, successfully muffling her protests. White-hot fear was beginning to burn inside her and she fought hard against her captors as they tried to hold her head still. Once they finally got the needle into her neck, her struggles began to quiet. Catherine managed to mumble one last word against the gag before she blacked out.

“Tara."


	6. Chapter 6

The stark white ceiling stood out brightly in the dim room. Confusion slowly settled in as Catherine realized she had absolutely no idea where she was. Slowly, she sat up, trying to think of something. Anything. "Okayyy..." She breathed out, trying to sort everything out. "Let's see here." She threw back the covers and swung her legs over. Standing up, she tried to take her first step and found herself a bit wobbly. She grasped the nearly empty side table to steady herself before trying again. This time she stayed upright easily. As soon as that was settled she strode around the bed until she reached the middle of the room, gazing around to survey her surroundings. A single glass of water sat on the side table, along with a plain lamp. The bed she had just climbed out of was comfortably furnished with black sheets and two black pillows, on one of which she had laid her head. The walls were painted with the usual white washed walls with no windows, and the only other furniture in the room was a wood desk with several drawers and a matching chair. Catherine looked down at herself. A plain black shirt and shorts was all that her outfit consisted of. When she looked back up, the two doors that sat beside each other caught her eye. She strode over to the one on the left, grasping the handle and trying to open it. Her eyebrows furrowed when she found that it wouldn't open. Instead she moved over and tried the other. This one opened with ease revealing a small dark walk in closet. Catherine stepped inside and felt around for a light switch. It flicked on, showing only one item inside hanging on the rod. Catherine stepped closer and reached out to touch the fabric. It was soft, yet thick and obviously made of something quite durable and strong. The solid black bodysuit looked carefully crafted and fitted, a zipper ran from the top of the collar to about halfway down the chest, and long sleeves covered where the arms would be. A belt was clipped around the waist and right thigh and Catherine was taken by surprise when she discovered the gun holster attached to it. "What the hell is this doing here?" She wondered aloud while inspecting it. Soon, after she had looked over every of the curious attachment, she moved on to the bottom. There was more pockets sewn into them then she ever thought possible for one pair of pants. Soon, she spied a pair of matching knee high boots on the floor under them. They were apparently made for comfort and ease of movement, one inch rubber heels and soles and several straps for adjustments along the ankle and calves. She bent over and picked one up. "These are actually pretty nice shoes." She mused, and small smile creeping across her face. Suddenly, a sharp knock on the adjacent door made her jump and she hastily put the boot down, switched off the light and shut the door behind her. 

"Who's there?" She asked, trying to keep her tone even, despite how rattled she felt inside.

"Are you decent?"

"Yes, why? Where am I?"

The sound of the door unlocking made her back up a step as the door swung open and a middle aged man walked in, two others behind him, one holding the door open, the other just standing there. Catherine's mind was working on overdrive, assessing and observing as fast as she could. The black eyepatch on each of the men's left eyes stood out immediately. The first man spoke first, a warm smile spreading gently across his face. "So many questions." He mused.

"Then I'm sure you can answer them." Catherine shot back, her eyes still moving between each of the three men rapidly.

"Of course," He nodded. "But first I'm going to need you to answer a few of mine, is that alright with you?"

Catherine took a minute to process. "I suppose, but I don't know much."

"That's alright." He gestured towards the bed. "Would you like to sit down?"

"No thank you."

He nodded in understanding. "Alright, here goes. How long have you been up?"

"Not long, a couple of minutes. Why?"

"Don't worry about it, I just wanted to be sure."

"Okayyy..." Catherine gave him a strange look, not really what he had said but not feeling very worried about it. "My turn. Where am I?"

"You're at a special facility for people like you. You're here so we can help you, in return for you helping us of course."

"How?"

"All in good time my dear. For now, I suggest you get dressed, we have many things to do today. Have you been in your closet yet?"

"Yes."

"Oh good. Then I assume you know what to do?" He didn't give her a chance to respond. "When you're done I'll be waiting on the other side for you, okay?"

"Alright. Where are we going after then?"

He smiled once again. "Such a curious young woman." He said before swiftly leaving and the man closed the door behind him.

Catherine stood there for a moment, trying to comprehend what had just happened before moving. "What the hell?" She whispered to herself before she moved back over to the closet, opened the the door and flipped the light back on. She sighed, gazing at the suit once again. "Oh well, might as well play along." 

The suit fit perfectly, so perfect that Catherine could hardly believe it. The fabric was soft and comfortable, and Catherine couldn't help but smile to herself as she zipped it up and pulled on the boots. She sighed. "Well, time to find out what the hell is going on here." She exited her closet, leaving her previous clothing folded neatly on a shelf inside. Catherine paused for a second with her hand on the doorknob, taking a deep breath and calming herself. When she pulled the door open, the three men turned to look at her, the lead man smiled when he saw her.

"How does it fit?" He asked.

"It fits perfectly, how did you do that?"

"We have a very good wardrobe department. Are you ready?"

"For what?"

"Training."

"For what?"

"You'll see." He turned to leave, expecting Catherine to follow behind, as she hesitantly did.

The three men led her down several hallways and corridors until they finally reached a large double door. One of the men leading her opened it and held it open as they passed through. The large, open room contained nothing but a gun range with a few lanes and no one but them inside. A long table sat next to the wall by the last gun lane, and from what Catherine could see almost all manner of weapons sat neatly on the table. Rifles, handguns, snipers, various blades and knives, and a box of matching bullets sat next to each firearm. Catherine's eyebrows furrowed, and her gaze shifted to the back of the first man's head as he lead her towards the table and stopped when they reached it. When he saw her hesitation he nodded in her direction, gesturing to the table. "Go ahead." He assured her.

Catherine approached it, her gaze drifted over the contents, eventually landing on a certain handgun. Slowly, she reached out and grasped it by the handle, turning it over. Suddenly, something clicked in her brain, and she reached back to the table, and quick as a flash, loaded the clip, assembled it and pulled back the barrel and hammer. Then, turning on her heels, she strode past the others to the lane, and spying the target on the other end of the 30 foot lane, fired four rounds in quick secession. When she lowered her arm, all four bullets had torn through the middle of the targets head, all in a tight group. Behind her, the man smiled darkly. "Very good." He praised.


	7. Chapter 7

Time traveling isn't all as glamorous as some might think. Sure it's fun and all but most of the time things are either fixed or fluxed, sometimes the time traveler doesn't hop about the time line as much as they used to. The Doctor and Tara just so happened to be stationary now, and doing nothing seemed to be taking its toll on Tara. She had done just about everything there is to do on the Tardis, but there was one thing she wanted to do most. Go out and see the world, not its past or future, she wanted to see its present most. So, wanting to go out and do something with the Doctor she walked out into the control room giving a long and overly dramatic childish groan to get his attention.

"Mhm?" He mumbled, still consumed in what he was fiddling with.

"We are the most boring people in the entire universe that I know." She sat down on the jump seat, watching him. "When was the last time we did something? Without nearly being killed in the process."

He stood, wiping his hands on his pants. "A long time, why?"

"Why do you wipe your hands on your pants instead of your special cloth? Never mind, I ask because I want to do something. I feel like we've been living the slow path for too long, and if memory serves you hate the slow path."

"Well, where would you like to go?"

"Earth's present time, we never spend long enough there, it's usually for a little bit and then we're off to god knows where."

"Alright then. You know what to do."

"Yup." She excitedly got up and began messing with the controls, setting them to her desired destination and time. They soon arrived.

"So, want to go sight seeing?" She looked back to him with a bit of a cheesy smile, catching her tongue between her teeth.

He smiled. "Lead the way."

She had a little bounce in her step as she turned for the Tardis doors. Upon stepping outside the Tardis, Tara took a deep breath in. "Me and my nostalgia, I favor London too much." She turned around to face the Doctor. "One would think I would want to go where the family that raised me and friends I grew up with are, but there's just something about London that's so addicting."

He shrugged. "Where would you like to go? Anywhere specific?"

"Not really, I'm the kind of person that aimlessly wanders around. If something catches my attention then I check it out."

"Well then, lead the way."

"Alright then." Tara placed her hands in her pockets, turned and started walking.

They wandered around downtown London for quite a while, just seeing what they could see. Never thinking that they were being watched and followed.

As they walked, Tara began to get a feeling in the back of her head that something was off. Ever so slowly she began to raise her guard that had been let down for the time that they wandered. Her paranoia began to pick up as well as she started throwing glances over her shoulder every now and again. Even with her increased paranoia, Tara still wasn't seeing anything or anyone that may be trailing them and it was frankly starting to piss her off.

She growled her frustration, stopped suddenly and completely turned around. Not moving, just watching, waiting for something to happen.

"Tara, is something wrong?" The Doctor looked at her strangely.

"Yes." She answered back without looking at him. "We're being followed. And only cowards hide their face!" She called out to whoever was following them.

"How can you tell?"

"We all have our gifts. You're hilariously clever, the Master was insanely brilliant, Catherine physically fit and smart, and I developed a sixth sense over the years. Believe me when I say it comes in handy from time to time."

"Alright, I believe you. Let's go inside, shall we?"

Tara gave a slight uneasy sound. "Alright."

"Would you have any idea who might be trailing us?" He asked as they entered the shop.

"No clue, and that upsets me a bit. Every person has their own special nudge in the back of my mind, this one felt familiar but was also warning danger at the same time."

"Interesting. I suppose an exit plan is in order?" He offered.

"Oh yeah, big time and we would have to follow through as soon as possible."

"Well, we're quite a ways from the Tardis, with not much for cover. So, around the back or out where everyone can see?"

"Back."

"Back it is then."

"Why don't you lead the way this time?"

"Alright." The Doctor led the way out the front door and immediately took a sharp right into the space between stores towards the back.

Tara followed suit, staying as close to him as possible. Her paranoia rising ever so slightly, throwing that occasional glance over her shoulder. _Why don't you grow up and show yourself already?_ She thought to herself.

As soon as they were in the cover of the backs of the stores, Tara unfortunately got her wish when a voice rang out from the shadows. "That was an incredibly stupid decision." The woman voice said, absolutely dripping with disdain.

Tara's head cocked sideways in curiosity, something about the woman's voice sounded familiar. All the while her instincts were telling her to try and leave the situation as soon as possible for chances of it severely going south. Ignoring that instinct however, Tara put her focus on where the voice came from, and, taking a chance, put a name to the voice. "Catherine? 

"How do you know that?" The woman answered bitterly, finally stepping out into the light where Tara could see her better. A versatile black bodysuit covered her, with several straps and zippers built into it. A pair of matching black boots were strapped onto her feet as well, but the thing that unsettled Tara the most was the gun strapped to Catherine's left thigh and the hateful expression on her face.

"Because I'm your sister." She said with a slightly confused tone. "Are you alright? Something about you seems off."

"No you aren't. I don't have a sister." Catherine put dryly, her hostile gaze shifting over to the Doctor.

Tara's gaze followed hers, the warning bells turning into sirens in a heart beat. She began to place herself between the Doctor and Catherine as she tried to defuse the situation. "Catherine, please let's just talk this out. I am your sister, twin if I'm being specific. Whatever happened I'm sure it can be fixed."

"Nothing's broken."

"Are you sure? Dad are there any unresolved problems between you two that you know of?" She looked back at him as she asked.

"Not that I'm aware of. Catherine, what's going on here? Please just talk to us." He tried.

A thought suddenly dawned on Tara. "Oh no." She bit her lower lip as she turned back around. "Catherine, tell me what do you remember about me and dad, or your childhood? Be honest too."

"Stop saying that, I'm not your sister." Her left hand curled around the gun's handle. "Now get out of the way."

Tara gave a slight nervous laugh. "I was afraid of an answer like that. Can we not shoot the people we love? Can we please talk it out?"

"I don't love him. I don't even care for him. Or you." Catherine drew her weapon, a dangerous look crossing her face. "Now get out of my way."

Tara swallowed against a knot in her throat, ever so slowly reaching into her front left pocket. "Sorry sis, no can do. Not with those intentions."

"I'm not your sister." She growled, suddenly holstering her weapon and kicking straight out, catching Tara in the chest, knocking the wind out of her before slamming her to the ground.

She let out a tiny whimper. "Ow." She brought her hand out of her pocket, bringing out what she was digging for. "You need to seriously chill, and quite possibly take a nap grumpy butt." In her hand she held a small sedative, getting up as quick as she could and swapped it to her dominate hand.

Unfortunately, Catherine was ready for her and dropped down in one fluid motion, swinging out her leg and swiping Tara's legs out from under her and standing up. Before Tara could move, Catherine had her foot on top of her right shoulder pinning her down. "You're making this much harder for me than it has to be." She remarked.

"I don't understand why you're doing this. What happened after we met up at that party?" Tara was trying earnestly to free herself.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with."

"There were people after you weren't there?" Another dawning thought. "Ah fuck, dammit I hate people like that. How did they convince you to turn on your family?"

"Stop saying that." Catherine hissed. Suddenly, she pressed down hard, rapidly twisting her foot as she did, and a sickening snap came from Tara's shoulder.

Tara shrieked in pain, swearing in fluent Gallifreyan along with letting go of the sedative. Giving a huff of satisfaction, Catherine released Tara's arm and turned in search of the Doctor, who hadn't gone very far, especially after he heard Tara cry out.

Tara sat up and held her shoulder, looking straight at the Doctor she opened the psychic link in her head. "Run, I've got this. Give or take."

"No." He responded quickly. "I'm not leaving you."

"Catherine is not herself. Do as I say and go. I've got it." She growled at him, picking up the sedative once more and began to stand up. Her shoulder ached and she placed her hand over it as she gripped the sedative with the other.

He hesitated for a moment, looking torn, before doing as he was told. Tara closed off the psychic link as she let out a quick sigh of relief, quickly replaced with a wince. She released her shoulder and followed after Catherine. She was getting ready to take off after him, obviously not at all amused with his sudden departure.

Tara tried to even her breathing as she came up behind Catherine. Having to switch hands in order to sedate her. Please let this be enough to put her out, she silently pleaded as she got ready to drive it into Catherine's left arm. Catherine stopped for a moment, sensing something was off. Tara stopped short behind her, she was just a little ways behind her. She chose to chance it though, closing the distance between them, driving the needle through Catherine's outfit, emptying the contents within and quickly backing up. Catherine reacted instantly, her right hand flying to her arm as she turned to face Tara with rage in her eyes.

Tara kept backing up, raising the arm that wasn't dislocated. "Sorry, sorry, sorry." She kept saying over and over. "But it's nap time in about maybe five or ten seconds."

"How dare you!" Catherine snapped, drawing a hunting knife from a pocket in the thigh.

Tara let out a squeak as she backed up more. "I'm sorry. God I sound pathetic."

"Yes, yes you do." She hissed.

"I am sorry though, just know that as your sister I still love you and forgive you since as far as I know you're not in the right mind right now."

"I'm not your sister!" Catherine yelled, slashing out at Tara with her blade, though missing as the sedative was beginning to take effect.

Tara reflexively moved back, putting more space between Catherine and herself as she began counting down out loud how much time was left. "Five, four, three, two, one." She hoped it would kick in soon as she was running out of space to back up.

Suddenly, Catherine's features relaxed, the knife dropping from her grasp and her knees buckling beneath her as her eyes slipped closed. Tara couldn't help but rush to Catherine's side and ease her down, even with her dislocated shoulder paining her at the effort.

"Tara?" She heard the Doctor's voice in her head. "Are you alright?" He asked. "I've made it back to the Tardis, I'm coming to get you now."

"I'm fine, I told you I got it. And good, I don't think I'd be able to carry Catherine's dead weight by myself."

"Tara, what have you done?"

"Put Catherine down for a nap. She's fine don't worry, not in the right mind but fine."

"Alright, I'll be there shortly."

"Okay, oh and please tell me you know how to pop a shoulder back into place."

There was a slight pause before she heard a tentative. "Yes."

"You don't, don't you?"

"I do, I'm just concerned."

"Concerned about who? The daughter with a dislocated shoulder or the unconscious daughter?"

"Both of you."

"Oh, we're both okay. Now hurry up and get here. Please."

"I'm coming." Suddenly, the grinding sound of the Tardis materializing came from behind her. She turned around to look, a small smile crept along her face. As soon as it completely landed, the door opened and he stepped outside, looking slightly distressed at the scene before him.

"Why so worried? I told you I got it." She placed a hand over her shoulder again.

"I know, but you still got hurt." He sighed. "Let's get you both inside."

She nodded and began to lift one side of Catherine, biting back a new flare of pain.

He stepped over to help, taking Catherine from Tara's grasp, one arm around her shoulders, the other under her legs. "I've got her." He said calmly, resting her head on his arm. "You go on inside and put some ice on that before I can take a look at it okay?"

She nodded and walked inside.

Tara was waiting in the infirmary, sitting cross legged on the examination table and held an ice pack against her shoulder. The pain starting to numb itself the longer she held it in place. The Doctor soon came in, looking a little glum.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just finished putting her to bed. She looks more like herself when she's asleep." He sighed, pausing for a moment before regaining composure. "Anyway, you need that shoulder relocated." He stepped over.

"Yeah, lost a bit of feeling in it thanks to this handy guy." She removed the ice pack and set it next to her.

"Alright." He said, firmly placing his hands on her shoulder. "On the count of three okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

"One, two..." Suddenly, he pushed hard, swiftly snapping the bone back into its place.

Tara gave a yelp as her hand flew to her shoulder. "Mother of fuck! You said on three." She slowly fell to one side, legs still crossed and began to whine a little.

"I lied. Also, don't swear."

"I'm twenty three, I believe you are no longer allowed dictate my vocabulary."

"When you're alone, yes. Until then please curb your tongue."

"Bite me." She sat up and rubbed her shoulder, carefully rotating it as well. "I don't know which is more painful, having it dislocated or relocated."

"Put some more ice on it, that should help."

Tara nodded and picked up the ice pack, placing it back on her shoulder. "Thanks."

"By the way, how long is that sedative supposed to last?"

"About an hour or two. Why? 

"Just to gauge about when we should be on guard."

"She's not going to be happy when she wakes up. And that's a good reason to ask."

"You shouldn't have to worry about her getting out though. I've got her on lock down. No doors or windows."

"Okay, good to know."

"Alright, you should probably get some rest, okay?" He suggested.

"Rest for what? A relocated shoulder? I'm fine now that it's back in place. Still hurts but fine."

"You've had a lot happen today, you're sure you don't want to wind down a little?" 

Tara gave a slow blink, signaling slight annoyance. "The only things I've been through is boredom, paranoia, and now this. I think I'll be fine." She hopped off the table, setting the ice pack down again.

He smiled knowingly. "All right, just keep your distance from her for awhile, okay? I'll bet she's not going to be very friendly when she wakes up."

"She wasn't very friendly when she met up with us. Wonder what that was all about." She turned and began to make her way out of the infirmary.

"Tara, I believe someone's gotten a hold of her, wiped her memory, then turned her against us. Though who did remains to be seen."

Tara stopped halfway, her hands clenched as they normally would now when she was upset. She turned around, trying to keep her composure as she spoke. "I may or may not have a slight idea on who did it." 

"What's your guess?" 

"Remember that party River invited you to and sometime later Catherine was there and then everything went south from there? I think whoever was after her managed to capture her and." She waved her hand in the air as a vague gesture.

"Oh." He said quietly.

"Yeah, that's more or less what I was thinking when it finally dawned on me."

"I could try to reverse the process, but I have no idea what they used on her in the first place, and if I tried anyway I could end up damaging her memory even worse and-" He stopped short, having to take a deep breath to calm himself. "I just hope they didn't hurt her again." 

"I'm hoping the same, and I know you wouldn't make things worse on purpose." She walked up to him and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "And I may be passive aggressive but I can throw one hell of a hail storm if needed. But I'm sure we could get her to remember if we tried hard enough."

"Perhaps we should just give her time, maybe she'll remember on her own."

"There's also that." She shrugged a little before immediately regretting it.

"Well, if you'd like to go do something now, I'm probably going to do some more repairs. I swear, the list of things needing repair around here never ends."

"I could help you if you want."

"I'd appreciate the company."

"Then it's settled, I'll help out."

******

Tara spent a good portion of her time helping the Doctor with repairs to the Tardis, the list seemingly never ending. She had decided to call it a day though and walked back to her room. Most of her focus was on her phone, sending off messages to just about every one of her contacts about Catherine and how she wasn't herself anymore. On her way to her room however, she decided to make a detour and stopped by the room Catherine was in. Sliding her phone into her pocket, she knocked on the door.

"Catherine? Are you up yet?" 

A loud thud on the wall closest to Tara, coupled with some muffled angry yelling, some of which Tara could make out as swear words was her response.

She jumped a little and took a small step back. "Yup, you're awake. I think I'll come back later when you've cooled off."

More yelling.

She waited about three hours before returning to talk to her, and if Catherine let her anywhere near her, help her remember her past. Tara was standing just outside Catherine's room, her hearts were racing, and she could feel her knees shaking under her. She took a deep breath before walking in.

Catherine's head whipped around to face her, utter hate burning in her eyes. "You." She growled.

"Hi, sorry about earlier." Tara tried to keep her voice even as she spoke.

Catherine glared at her. Tara rubbed the back of her head, unsure of what to say next.

"Why the hell did you bring me here?" Catherine demanded. "Wherever here is." 

"You're on the Tardis. And we brought you here because you're not the same anymore. Catherine, don't you remember? It's me, Tara, your sister."

"I'm not your sister, I don't have a sister." Catherine stated yet again, seeming a little annoyed.

"Yes you are, and yes you do. I can prove it too."

Catherine looked at her skeptically, her eyes narrowing with mistrust. "How?"

"When we were kids, I was obsessed with preserving memories, after any adventure through out time and space I would convince dad to let me take one picture. You show up in every single one, I think I have an old Christmas photo on me somewhere."

Catherine didn't look very impressed.

"I do just give me a second." Tara began to dig around in her pockets. Reaching in to her back pockets she started standing in a funny angle the deeper she went. Finally though, she found what she was looking for. "There you are." She started standing up straight again, an old black and purple, teenage like, wallet in her hand. Opening it up, she did even more scrounging around before finding an old photo. "Here, Christmas photo from about ten years ago. You, me, and dad here on the Tardis in the console room." She held it out to Catherine.

Catherine inspected it for a moment before losing interest. "That picture means nothing to me."

"How could it mean nothing to you?"

"It could easily be faked." 

"How can I fake something like that? Why would I want to? That's exactly how we looked when we were teenagers, before dad changed his face. It's not something that can easily be faked."

Catherine gave her a stubborn look. "I still don't believe you, and I never will."

"Just listen to me Catherine. Think, how could I possibly know your name? Half the world doesn't know we exist except for friends and family."

"You do your homework, I suppose."

"What? No, because I know you and here's how. Once upon a time we used to live on a planet called Gallifrey. At the age of eight we were turned human, taken to earth and sent to two different families. I grew up with a brother and three sisters, as far as I know you didn't have any brothers or sisters. We met our first year of middle school and became friends. As time went we met our first alien called the Daleks, we were able to dodge that situation with the help of dad and we've been traveling with him ever since we became Time Lords again. Or Time Ladies I guess since we're, you know. You do at least remember being a Time Lord yes?"

"Lovely story, and yes. But that's all it is, a story."

"It's not a story, it's true. All of that happened, why won't you listen to me?"

"Because I was told not to."

"By who?" Tara's voice took on a higher pitch.

At that Catherine shut down, her expression making it clear that she wasn't going to be saying anything more to Tara.

Tara's hands clenched, making a sound only a child could when they were upset before turning around and storming out of the room. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs until her voice died from over usage, however she knew throwing a childish tantrum wouldn't help her cause. So she held it in and shoved the need to scream down.

******

Before going to see Catherine again, Tara waited a few days just to see if Catherine would remember anything. She had to stop herself from knocking on Catherine's door a few times, reminding herself every time to wait. She was getting tired of waiting though and decided two days was enough time. She walked down that same hallway, stood in front of that same door, and summoned enough courage to knock on the door and walked inside. For a minute she didn't see her until she looked to the corner adjacent to her.

Tara tried to put distance between her and Catherine, backing up in just the slightest. "Hi, how are we doing?"

"How am I doing?!" Catherine turned to stare daggers at Tara. "You're the one who locked me in a cage!" She lunged forwards.

Tara let out a small yelp and took a defensive stance. "Look I don't want to fight I was just asking."

"Well I want out. Now!"

"I'm not allowed to do that." She backed up until her back hit the wall.

Catherine kept advancing, getting closer and closer to her, an incredibly hostile look on her face.

"Can't we talk this out? I'm sure we could come up with a compromise." Tara offered a bit of a nervous smile.

"No." She snarled.

"Okay. Let's at least try to avoid doing something we might regret later. Please."

"Trust me, I won't regret anything." Catherine's right hand curled into a tight fist.

"Hey, hitting is not okay." Tara tried to move herself away from the wall.

Catherine growled, swinging her first around towards Tara's face. All of the sudden, an angry whirr came from the Tardis, and before Catherine's fist got anywhere near Tara, two chains sprang out of the ground and wrapped around Catherine's wrists, pulling her back about a yard away from Tara.

Tara's knees shook underneath her, she backed up until she hit the wall again and slowly sank to the floor. "I guess she doesn't like you this way." Her gaze flew up. "Thanks old girl." She patted the wall she was currently sitting against.

Another whirr was quickly followed by Catherine voicing her outrage by kicking the wall. Really hard.

"Oh no don't do that." Tara quickly got to her feet. "You'll upset her even more, trust me I know."

"I don't care, let me go!" She tugged hard against her bonds.

"Um, no. You need to calm down and hopefully remember your past. Speaking of, has anything come back at all?"

Catherine turned to face her, looking confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Have you remembered anything?" Tara shot her gaze down, clasping her hands behind her back, adding more quietly. "The Catherine I grew up with would never do something like this."

"Were you dropped on your head as a child?" Catherine's eyes narrowed.

"Probably, it would explain why I'm a bit slow during certain situations. That or being turned human for five years and then turned back to what I am now played a part in my slowness." She shrugged. "I don't know."

Catherine threw her a very bored look.

"My history doesn't matter though. My question still stands, and if it's no fine, if it's a yes great. Either answer won't effect your chances of leaving though."

"There's nothing I'm forgetting."

"Yes there is."

"No there isn't." Catherine insisted.

"Yes there is." Tara took a few steps forward. "As far as I know you've forgotten your childhood. You've forgotten the Tardis, where you're from, how you ended up on earth, the people we've met, the places we've been, the people we've saved, dad, and me. Dammit Catherine I'm you're twin sister and I won't give up on trying to get you to remember, whether it happens the slow way or give it a jump start."

"What?"

"Are you asking what the jump start is or was I talking too fast?"

"The first. What the hell are you planning to do?"

"Oh, well the jump start is a basic Time Lord trick that I recently learned how to do. I go into your head and try to reverse what was done, but I'd really rather use that as a last resort. I don't want to accidentally hurt you when I try, and hurting the ones I love is bad. Really bad."

"Are you trying to insinuate something?"

Tara sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is getting frustrating, how do they put up with you? I'm trying to say that you've forgotten who the real enemy is and one of these days, if you don't remember on your own, dad or I will have to give your memories a kick start."

"Don't you dare touch me." Catherine hissed. "You come anywhere near me and I will remove your vocal chords." She sounded deadly serious.

"Well, aren't we full of rainbows and sunshine." Tara's hand went straight to her throat as she spoke.

"Yes, now get out." She demanded.

Tara sighed a little. "Alright, I'll be back later though. Just to talk, promise."

"I've got a better idea. Leave me the fuck alone!" Catherine yelled, striking out at Tara yet again.

Tara flinched, moving back as she felt her eyes starting to sting. "I love you." She said before she left.

"Well I don't even fucking know you!" Catherine called after her.

Tara fought the urge to yell back at her, she just kept going until she was out of the room and far down the hall before sliding to the floor, mentally and emotionally drained.

******

Since their last meeting, Tara waited longer than two days before going to see Catherine. Despite what Catherine had said to her, Tara thought if she just talked with her, she would start to remember who her family was, and if Tara was lucky, listen to what she had to say. When she reached her room, Tara placed a cautious hand on the door and eased it open.

"Catherine?" Her voice was a bit tentative. "Look I know you said to leave you alone, in a rather colorful way, but I just wanted to see how you were doing. That's all, I'll leave as soon as possible if you want me to." Tara started rubbing her arm, a new habit she picked up when she became anxious. She sat with her back turned to Tara, staying silent.

"I know this question will go in vain, but have you remembered anything? It doesn't matter how far back it was, as long as it's something."

"A little." She said quietly.

"Really?" Tara sounded hopeful. "That's great. What have you remembered? If you don't mind my pressing." She stepped closer.

"You."

Both Tara's hearts fluttered in her chest. "It's about time, I told you. I could just hug you, I won't though because you said not to touch you and I respect boundaries."

"It's okay." Catherine stood to face her, moving around the bed she was sitting on.

"Are you sure? I don't want to push my luck."

Catherine nodded. 

Tara smiled and moved to hug her, holding on tight. "It's been a long time since I hugged you."

"I know." Catherine smirked, slowly moving her right hand to grasp something in her left sleeve before bringing her right hand back down. "I missed you too."

"You know who will also be glad to hear this?" She stepped back just enough to look at her. "Dad, he was also hoping that you'd remember in your own time too. Now we don't have to jump start anything yay!"

Catherine gave a half hearted smile. "Yay!" She replied, though not sounding too terribly excited. "And you know what?" She asked.

"What?"

Catherine smiled sweetly, then her hand shot forward, burying the tiny barbed blade into Tara's right side. "Don't underestimate your opponent." She answered before yanking it back out and stepping back.

Tara let go of Catherine, placing a hand over her side. She took a few steps back before dropping to her knees and collapsing to her side. "But I thought." She whimpered a little and curled in on herself.

"I'm an excellent actress darling." Catherine smirked. "And you're so sentimental." She slipped the blade back into it's secured pocket on her sleeve. "You also didn't do a very good job on searching me."

"I was in the infirmary when you were brought down here."

"Not my problem." Catherine sighed, bending down to search Tara's pockets.

"Whoa hey no, hands off." She tried to move out of Catherine's reach.

"That's not going to work." Catherine commented, still patting her down.

"How do you mean? What are you looking for?"

"Keys, or anything useful." She found some bobby pins in Tara's front pocket. "Ah, these will work."

"Is that how many bobby pins were in my pocket? No wonder why I've been running low."

Catherine ignored her and began to work on her cuffs.

"So what's your big plan now? The ship has never ending halls, one can get lost easily if they don't know how to navigate them." 

"I'll figure it out." The first cuff clicked and fell off and Catherine turned her attention to the next.

Tara tried to push herself up, but found she couldn't move. "What the hell? What was at the end of that blade?"

"Oh, that. It has a paralyzing toxin on the barb. It's enough to kill a human, but I'm sure you'll be fine." She smiled as the other cuff clicked off. "Though you won't be going anywhere for awhile."

"Wait, toxin?! Who allows you these things?"

"Don't worry about it." Catherine brushed herself off.

"God I feel so stupid for thinking you were telling the truth." Tara cast her gaze to the floor in self shame.

"Oh, do calm down. I'm just going to kill him." She calmly stepped over the prone Tara and towards the door.

"What? No, you can't do that!" Tara tried to roll over before remembering the paralysis. "Stupid paralyzingly toxin."

"Bye bye." Catherine said before disappearing around the corner. 

"Catherine don't do this!"

She got no response. Tara began swearing in fluent Gallifreyan.

Catherine swiftly made her way through the hallways, checking almost every door she came across. Eventually, she came across a door that was open just a crack. Curious, Catherine slipped inside. 

The walls of the room were a royal blue color and decorated with old posters and shelves that held unusual nicknacks and other things. A queen sized bed sat against the far wall, unmade as if the owner of the bedroom didn't care. To the left were two other separate doors, on the right a single vanity mirror with things cluttering the top of it, and pictures stuck at the top of the mirror. Catherine stepped closer the mirror to inspect the photographs. One in particular caught her eye.

The photo had a girl, around the age of twelve, with brown hair, brown eyes, hunched over and a big smile. Another girl, about the age of six, with dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes and looked to be laughing was on her back. Next to them was a young boy at the age of ten had his arms wrapped around the older girl's waist, he had dirty blonde hair as well, with blue eyes and was also smiling. Behind them was a beach and blue ocean. On the back if the photograph it read _'Family vacation to Miami Florida, 2009._ '

Catherine plucked the photo from its spot, smiling maliciously. "Gotcha." She said, before quickly folding it and stuffing it in one of her many pockets before leaving the room after making sure everything was as it was when she entered.

Tara wasn't sure how much time had passed since Catherine left the room. She wasn't even sure if Catherine was still on the Tardis, but as the red stain on her shirt slowly got bigger she decided that she needed treating right away. Taking a deep breath, she called out for the Doctor as loud as she could. "Dad! I'm in need of help right now!"

Unfortunately she got no response.

"Dammit dad where are you? Hopefully not on the Tardis. Be anywhere but the Tardis right now." She whimpered in slight pain and discomfort as her side started going numb. About five minutes later the sound of footsteps caught Tara's attention.

Unable to crane her neck to look, she had to call out instead. "Who's that?"

"It's dad." He poked his head inside, looking confused at first but then quite worried when he saw Tara on the floor and Catherine nowhere in sight. "What's going on?" He asked, walking inside.

"Um." Tara bit her lower lip, trying to figure out how to explain what happened. "For starters Catherine's a better liar than me. Second, I can't move."

He knelt down to get a better look at Tara's wound. "Tell me exactly what happened." He instructed.

"Despite what you told me, I've been making visits to see Catherine. Hoping that she remembered something from her past, I asked if anything came back. She lied and said yes, and you know me I'm sentimental and all that. I was close enough in her reach, the Tardis chained her by the way, and she stabbed me in the side. Now here's why I can't move, she said that there was a toxin in her blade that could kill a human. Since I'm not human, it paralyzed me. She dug in my pockets and found something to pick the lock of her cuffs with and now she's roaming free looking for you because she wants to kill you. I'm sorry I fell for her act, I should've known she was lying I just." She broke off as her eyes stung and her voice started to waver.

"It's okay." He said quietly. "Let's get you to the infirmary, okay?" He began to carefully scoop her up.

She took a deep breath to try and calm herself, whimpering slightly as he picked her up. He carefully cradled her in his arms as he stood and carried her out.

"Wait, I don't know if she's still here or not. She could be waiting just around the corner."

"I'm willing to take that chance."

"I'm not, were you not listening before? She wants to kill you."

"I know."

Tara gave a frustrated growl. "Fine, off we go then."

He nodded, then carried her down the hall to the infirmary. Tara felt a little shameful as they went. Having to stop by the infirmary for a second time that week, and falling for Catherine's facade.


	8. Chapter 8

After what seemed like days (which it probably was) the paralysis finally ran its course through Tara's system. She went down to her room and pulled her phone out of her pocket, going through her entire list of contacts. A final call was made to the family that raised her.

Her little sister Jess answered the phone. "Tara?" Her voice shook slightly, a hint of fear in her tone.

Both Tara's hearts picked up when she heard her sister's fear. "Jess what's wrong? What happened?"

She began to speak, but was suddenly cut off. The sound of the phone shifting was followed by an all too familiar voice. "I'm sorry, she can't come to the phone right now."

Tara's hearts dropped to her stomach as the color drained from her face. "Catherine, what did you do? Where'd Jess go? If you hurt her so help me god."

"So many questions." Catherine's voice seemed amused.

"What are you doing there Catherine? You know they have nothing to do with what's going on."

"Ever heard of a trade-off?"

"No." Tara mumbled, she ran a hand down her face stopping over her mouth for a moment before saying. "For the safe return of my family you want dad."

"There you go." Catherine smiled.

"Leverage, I hate that." She gave an angry sigh. "Just leave them out of this Catherine, let them go."

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't do that." Her voice hardened and became much more serious. "You have 24 hours. That's it." Then the line went dead.

In a small fit of anger, Tara threw her phone across the room. Making contact with the wall, the protective case on it came off landing ten feet away from her phone. She screamed at the top of her lungs, sounding like bloody murder. "Gott verdammt!"

The Doctor could hear her distress from another part of the Tardis, and soon arrived at her room. She was in the middle of her room, sitting on the floor, her knees pulled close, her head tucked down, sobbing in fear and anger.

"Tara, what's happened?" He asked quietly.

She brought her head up, her eyes began turning red and tears were streaming down her face. "Catherine has my family. She won't let them go unless-" Her voice broke and shook.

"Unless you hand me over to her." He finished. Kneeling down, he placed an arm around her shoulders. "Did she give you time?"

"I have 24 hours, talk about being stuck between a rock and fucking hard place."

"Tara." He warned quietly, then quickly changed the subject. "I'm sure we can find a way, if we both put our heads together."

"What can we possibly do?" Tara sounded a bit hopeless. "Surely she'll have the house crawling with those people just waiting for us."

"Most likely, but we can still find a way."

She wiped her eyes and nodded, or at least tried to. She took a deep breath and rose to her feet. "Right, what should we do?"

******

It took nearly all day for Tara to ready herself. She had made modifications to her glasses and quietest shoes she owned. She had also managed to get the Doctor to loan his sonic screwdriver to her. She retrieved the vortex manipulator from a hidden drawer in her room and strapped it onto her wrist. She punched in the coordinates and was gone in a flash.

She quickly found herself in her old neighborhood. A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Pulling out her Tardis key, she slipped it around her neck and under her shirt. It had a perception filter installed into it so she would go unnoticed. She took a deep, shaky breath and started up the walk, quietly climbing the porch stairs.

The house was quiet. No lights, no sound, just utter silence. The quiet made her stomach turn a bit, or perhaps it was the poison her sister injected into her doing that. Once she reached the front door, she stood a fair distance back. Her hand reached up to the right earpiece of her glasses and scanned for any kind of unwanted tech.

It blinked when she looked up. Just above the front door frame, a small bug had been placed. She gave a tiny sound of frustration, using her vortex manipulator she flashed into the house. Looking around the main floor, she reached up to the right ear piece again and did the same thing. This time her glasses beeped violently. There were bugs in almost every corner and transparent laser trip wires running each doorway and the stairs.

Tara let out an angry sigh. "Come on Catherine." She said as quietly as she could. She stood up straight with her feet together, pulling a Wizard of Oz trick, she clicked her heels together once as softly as she could. Then, using a small table near the stairs, hopped onto the railing, sticking to it like a magnet on metal. As she walked up the banister, she froze when she heard movement upstairs.

It sounded close to where she was, wanting to know what it was she pressed further being as quiet as she could. Two large men with the single eyepatches distinctive to those who serve the Silence stood by the door of Tara's old room, guarding it.

She softly cursed under her breath, slowly she lowered herself down to a crouching position, careful as to make sure she didn't fall off. She used her vortex manipulator to slip by them and enter her room. She zapped into her closet making little to no sound. It was still filled with some of her old clothes.

Again she smiled a little, she stayed in the same position. She reached up to her glasses again, this time though reaching for the left earpiece activating the x-ray part. Once that was on, she reached again to the right earpiece carefully turning her head around the room. There were bugs in the upper corner closest to her and the diagonal upper corner, giving them a full 360 of the room.

Tara reached into her back pocket and pulled out the sonic screwdriver. Aiming it at the bugs, she was able to manipulate them by putting them on a loop that would last thirty minutes. Once she'd done it to both, she slipped the sonic back into her pocket. She stood up as carefully as possible, took off her key, and turned off the x-ray part of her glasses. She then opened up the closet doors and began to step out.

Her adoptive mother, father, and little sister were bound and gagged in the middle of the room. They saw her exiting the closet and there were muffled voices. Jess looked like she had been crying.

Tara pulled a finger close to her mouth, and used her head to gesture at the door. She then approached her little sister, placing her hands on her temples. "Don't worry, I'm going to get you guys out of here okay?"

Jess nodded slowly, though she still looked terrified.

Tara brushed a bit of hair out of her face. "It'll be okay, I promise." She placed a gentle kiss on her little sister's head. "I'm going to turn you to look at your bindings, but I'll be gentle." She placed her hands on Jess's shoulders and slowly began to turn her.

Two thick black zip ties were zipped tight, binding her wrists. She had been trying to move and they had rubbed her wrists red. Tara let out a small sigh from her nose, she turned Jess back and rose to her feet. She searched her room a bit for a pair of scissors she knew she owned. Once she found them she set to work on removing the zip ties, being careful not to hurt her family in the process.

Soon, they were all free. Tara warned them to stay silent as to not alert the guards outside. Afterwards she put in a few coordinates in the vortex manipulator, before pressing a final button she grabbed her family member's hands and kept a sturdy grip. She gave a small reassuring smile, and pressed the final button. They materialized outside the Tardis. On the moon.

"Don't worry." Tara reassured as she rose to her feet. "The Doctor extended the artificial atmosphere, we'll be okay." She took Jess by the hand with a comforting grip. "Come on, let's go inside."

She nodded quietly. The recent events had shaken her quite a lot. She led them into the Tardis, as soon as the door closed Tara pulled Jess close. Her left hand was on the back of her head, her right holding her back. "I'm so sorry." She muttered, her voice broke a bit.

Jess buried her face in Tara's shirt. Tara could feel her chest heave as Jess let out a muffled sob. "I was so scared." She murmured. "I thought she was going to hurt us." She pulled back, her face once again wet with tears. "Tara, she was so unfeeling. I didn't think she was really that far gone. What happened to her?"

Tara gently took hold of her sister's head. "There's so much that happened to her. Her memory was wiped and her head was filled with lies." Tara's face suddenly fell. "Wait, where's your brother?"

"H-he's at a friend's house. Mom let him go."

"Mom! I told you it wasn't safe! How could you let him go?!"

Her adoptive mother turned to face her. "I was not sure how large the threat truly was. But I don't regret my decision, because he is safe there. Because he wasn't in the house."

"I'm going to get him. I will not risk his friend's safety." Tara stood up a bit straighter quickly putting in the coordinates. "The Doctor will be with you guys shortly. Don't touch anything, I'll be back as soon as I can." She disappeared as soon as she said that.

She arrived at Jake's friend's house's doorstep and immediately pounded on the door.

It only took a few moments before the door opened revealing Jake and his friend. Tara pulled off a friendly smile and said. "Hey Jake, you're leaving. Now, if you have an overnight bag here go grab it."

"What?! What's so important?" Jake demanded.

Tara reached out in a flash, grabbing him by his collar. Her voice lowered so only he could hear her. "Catherine got out, threat level has gone up. She already tried to use mom, dad, and Jess against me. You're coming with me like it or not."

His eyes widened when she grabbed his shirt, but he soon relented. "Fine, just give me a minute."

She pulled back, let go of him and nodded.

******

Tara had gotten Jake back to the Tardis and settled her family into their respective rooms near each other. The Doctor had created the rooms with their help and the Tardis's telepathic circuit, so they looked exactly how they always pictured their dream room.

Tara had gone to her room after returning the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. She took off her vortex manipulator and put back in its hiding place, kicked off her shoes, and began to lie down to get the turning in her stomach to stop. Remembering an old trick, Tara grabbed one of her pillows, folding it in half as best she could, she held it against her midsection and laid down on her side, facing the door just basically staring at it. She heard a quiet knock on her bedroom door not long after.

"Come in."

She heard Jess's voice on the other side of the door. "I'm not sure how to open it."

"Oh." Slowly Tara got up and headed for the door. She grabbed the handle, turned it and pulled it open. "That's weird, normally there's a handle on your side. I'll fix that later, come on in." Tara made space for Jess to enter.

"So, how long do you think your sister's going to be like this?" Jess seemed worried as she stopped near Tara's bed.

Tara shrugged. "I don't know." She honestly told her, sitting down on the bed and lying down again retrieving her pillow to hold against herself.

"Are you okay?"

Tara didn't even try to lie as she answered. "Um, no."

"What happened?" She sat down next to her.

"Catherine stabbed me in the midsection and injected me with poison."

"What?!" Jess went from worried to horrified in under a second. "Are you going to die?!"

Tara couldn't help but smile and laugh a little. "No." She said in mock seriousness. "You forget I'm a Timelord Jess. The dosage injected into me was enough to kill a human, but just cause it didn't kill me doesn't mean I wasn't effected by it."

"What happened?"

"I was paralyzed for a few days. I think."

Suddenly Tara's cellphone rang from her bedside table. She groaned a little but sat up, careful not to aggravate her stomach more. Without looking at the caller I.D, she answered. "Hello?"

"Hello Tara."

"Catherine." Tara shifted a tiny bit. "How'd you get my number?"

"You know it's not that hard to trace a call. Especially with the technology at my disposal." She sounded slightly smug, but also with a tinge of frustration.

"I'm a bit surprised your call went through considering we're in the time vortex now."

"Lies are not your strong suit dear. So how are things on the moon?"

"How'd you, never mind. Fine, I've got everyone under my protection now." Tara's stomach turned a bit. "Didn't like your going away present."

"Well, you've made my job quite more frustrating. I really should have killed you while I had the chance."

"Awe, I love you too."

The line was quiet on Catherine's end.

"Anyway, what do you want?"

"You're beginning to frustrate me." Catherine growled.

"Yeah, I have a reputation of doing that."

"Anyway, I wanted to congratulate you on your daring rescue." Her tone was dripping with sarcasm. "I'll have to try harder next time."

Tara scoffed a bit. "Have fun with that. You'll have a hell of a difficult time finding everybody else. I scattered them throughout time and space."

"I wouldn't be so sure. I'm quite good at finding my targets." She sounded just a bit too happy.

Tara's expression dropped a bit, sparing a worried glance at her little sister. "How do you mean?"

"I'll find them. If not your family, anyone you have ever cared about. And when you come out of your rabbit hole, and you will, I'll be waiting." Her voice was harsh and dead serious.

"Yeah well, good luck with that. Like I said I've hidden them all for their safety through out time and space. Only way to find them is if you had either the Tardis, or a time vortex manipulator. Which you don't so that'll make finding them pretty hard."

"I can be patient."

"I'm sure you can."

Catherine sighed, obviously bored and frustrated. "You know I have an entire organization behind me."

"Yeah an entire organization of incompetent workers who can't even keep an eye on a small group of three." Tara was on her feet now, her voice raising with suppressed irritation and anger.

"Careful there dear, you might blow a fuse."

"Bite me." Tara snapped. "There's only so much shit someone can take before it becomes too much. Taking my family, and trying to use them as leverage was the last straw." A sudden pain shot its way through Tara's stomach, giving a pained sound she doubled over dropping to her knees.

"Not feeling so hot are we?" Catherine asked snidely.

"Gee, how'd you guess?" Tara breathed out.

"Well, I haven't got complaints in the past."

"Can easily figure out why. Look Catherine, I don't doubt your skills and abilities. Leave the Earth alone."

"You know my terms."

"Terms that I'll never meet." Tara's stomach felt tighter and she whined a bit. "I hate to cut this short Catherine but I really must go."

"If you must. I'll leave you to ponder your options."

"I'll let you know as soon as I can." She hung up and got to her feet as fast as she could, tossing her phone onto her bed and running straight for the bathroom. A retched sound came from there followed by a small whine. "Jess, go get mom please." She begged her little sister.

"Are you okay?"

"No, just go get her."

"Okay."

Tara heard the sound of quick footsteps promptly leaving the room. Once things finally calmed down in her stomach, Tara sat back patiently waiting for the return of her sister with her adoptive mother.

It didn't take long. "Tara, are you alright? Jess told me you sounded like you were sick."

"She's not wrong mom. I am sick, I was poisoned by Catherine but it wasn't enough to kill me. It's working it's way out of my system now. Oh god." Another wave of nausea passed through her and she lurched forward.

"Do you need anything?"

"Right now water, please."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

Tara nodded. "Okay."


	9. Chapter 9

Boredom, everybody succumbs to it and has their own way of dealing with it. Tara wanted to, but it was hard since certain people were out to get her or anyone close to her back on earth. After pacing her room for hours and thinking over her options she finally came to a decision.

"Fuck it." She said to herself. "Dangers be damned I'm bored as hell." She went straight to her closet to find an outfit, considering walking around in her night clothes would be considered a bit strange.

Shortly after changing Tara went into the hallways to hunt for Jess. She found her little sister in the game room with their brother playing a game of Mario Kart, shouting at each other every now and again.

Tara smiled and laughed a little as she got closer to them. "Jess, can I steal you for a minute or two?"

She quickly paused the game before setting down the controller and getting up. "Yeah. Why?"

"It's best if we talk alone, come on."

"Okay." She responded, looking a little worried.

Tara walked out into the hall and a little further away from the game room entrance. Before she started talking about her plans she wanted to see how Jess was adjusting. "So how are you liking life in the Tardis? Everything okay so far?"

"It's fun and exciting, but I still miss being at home. Have you heard anything about Catherine?"

"I haven't actually, I guess I should get to why I wanted to borrow you. When you've been here for as long as I have, everything kind of becomes a bit boring. I've done everything there is to do here and I can't take it anymore. I have to leave for awhile."

"What?" Jess looked even more worried now. "But I thought we were supposed to stay here until things calmed down? What if you get into trouble?"

"That's where I'm relying on you, and this." Tara reached under her shirt for her necklace. "This will send an alert to the Doctor if I stop moving for more than twelve hours. But if it doesn't go off and I'm still not back you have to get the Doctor to do something. He's used to me leaving at random times for days on end. If it's longer than two weeks and the fail safe hasn't gone off for some reason, I need you to go get him, cause a scene if you have to, as long as he does something. Can you do that?"

Jess looked a bit like a deer in headlights for a second before she finally snapped out of it. "Okay." She said quietly.

Tara placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, I'll be okay. I've been in this business a while now. I know how to take care of myself. I mean I should be I'm twenty three for crying out loud."

She nodded slightly. "Just promise me you'll be careful."

"When am I never careful? Wanna see a magic trick? Watch this." Tara quickly put in coordinates into her time vortex manipulator. "Oh if it takes me longer to get home that's because I forgot about this." She gestured to the time vortex manipulator. "Anyway, I'll see ya later. Bye, bye." She smiled and winked before flashing out.

It was late, quiet, and not a sound could be heard. The air was cool, the sky was clear and not a breeze blew, Tara had developed a thing for walking around at times like this. It felt good to just get out and stretch her legs. Things she would see were usually the same, but she didn't mind. The deep oranges, reds, purples, and yellows and sunset burnished the pavement with their colors.

_It feels like every time we stop here_ , Tara thought, _things get more and more beautiful. Even if we are here for just a little while._

Suddenly, a sharp pain found it's mark in her neck. Tara shouted in pain a little her hand flying up to her neck and feeling what hit her. A dart had struck her, just inches away from her carotid artery. If it had, it might have killed her. It was composed of a lightweight metal, the fins to direct it's path, and a sharp, hollow tip at the end. Tara could see into the small hollow that once held some substance but was now empty.

Her shoulders slumped as she let out a disappointed huff. "Really? Who's after me this-" She stopped short of her question as she dropped to the ground. A few blocks away, the light of a scope flashed from the rooftop.

******

A few hours later Tara started to come around. Things were slightly out of focus, so making things out was a bit of a challenge. From what she could tell, she was sitting in a small, well lit room. Her wrists were handcuffed to the metal chair bolted to the floor. A metal desk sat in front of her as well.

Tara blinked a few times to try and clear her vision. She pulled at the handcuffs, but they were fairly secured and showed no sign of budging.

It wasn't long until she heard the sound of the door opening and a man entered the room. An eyepatch covered his left eye. "Hello Tara." He said casually as he shut the door and sat down in the chair on the other side of the desk.

Tara gave him a questioning look, her head tilted slightly as she asked him. "Do I know you?"

"No, but I know your sister."

Tara straightened, her expression was blank and tone serious. "How?"

"We're colleagues."

"How do you know me if I don't know you?"

"I said, I know your sister."

"Yes I heard you. That was a new question, answer it."

He sighed, obviously not in the mood for Tara's 20 questions. "You know who I work for and that's all that matters."

"No I don't. Pretend I'm five and explain it to me."

"Do you know why we brought you here?"

"Oh I don't know, shot in the dark but you hate me? Or perhaps someone related to me? Shot in the dark."

"That's a very good deduction. I'm just going to inform you of the rest. You're here as incentive for your father. Your sister is the one who sedated you and brought you here."

"Well that's nothing new, except for Catherine anyway. That part is new. Where is she anyway? How did you get her to betray her family? That I'd like to know."

"We wiped her memory, the only thing she remembers from her past is her own name and how to fight."

"Oh well that's just dandy." A great amount of sarcasm was in her tone. "Who the hell are you anyway?"

"I would think this would be a big clue." He pointed to the black patch on his left eye.

Tara pursed her lips and thought back as far as she could. "Oh." She drew the word out a little longer than necessary before continuing. "You work for them don't you? Why am I not surprised?" She slumped back in her seat as much as her bonds would allow.

"There we are." He said. Then, he folded his hands together on the table. "Now." He said. "This is what's going to happen. You're going to be taken from here to a permanent cell. Nothing uncomfortable, you'll be taken care of. But I assume that you, being your father's daughter, will try to escape. I wouldn't suggest that, seeing as we would have to resort to less pleasant means of holding you here. Also, there will be at least four armed guards on you at all times. Any questions?"

"Mm, just one. You know I can always escape without being detected right? So that means I can easily slip past your men. I'd love to see you try and make me stay for longer than ten minutes." Tara had a slight smirk and a bit of sass in her tone.

"Maybe us, but not your sister. If that's all, I'll call the guards to escort you." He pushed back his chair and began to stand.

Tara sighed and rolled her eyes a bit. "I guess."

He nodded and left the room. Seconds later, six guards, four armed with rifles entered. One unlocked one of her cuffs to release her from the chair. Tara flashed him a fake smile, the corners of her eyes crinkled a little. "Gentle men." She greeted, nodding her head a little then said nothing more. Once Tara was loose from the chair, the man snapped the cuff back around her wrist and took hold of her left arm. The second took her other.

"Does it have to be this way?" She looked to the man on her left.

He didn't give her an answer, just a sharp tug. They led her out the door and down the hallway, two armed guards in front, two in the back, and of course the two that each gripped one of her arms.

_Not much of talkers I guess_ , Tara thought to herself she looked around herself a bit as she slowly started to make her escape plan. She didn't see anyway of going through the halls unseen so she figured she'd have to hide around the corner. Something she was fairly used to.

They turned the corner, and the hallway opened up into a large room. It was busy, full of people bustling about. But that's when she saw it. Near the middle of the room.

Her eyes became wider and she started to drag her feet across the floor wanting very much to stop. "Whoa, whoa hey stop. That's Catherine, what did you do?" She dug her heels into the floor as best she could just to see her sister.

Catherine lay in a capsule of sorts, the cover transparent so as Tara could see her sister inside. From what she could tell, Catherine was asleep, or unconscious at least. The guards had to wrestle Tara to get her to stop her from moving closer.

She eventually stopped her struggling but she was still looking for answers. "Why is she in there?" Her tone was demanding.

A woman walked forwards. She wore an eyepatch, just like the rest of them. She wore a lab coat over her suit and blazer. "She's in a stasis chamber, as long as she's asleep, she can't remember."

Tara stared the woman down. "I'm going to say this in advance because my kind nature won't let me keep it buttoned in. One of these days I swear, things won't go the way you want it, I know my father wouldn't do something like that but I can and will see to it that it does." Tara's tone carried heavy darkness to it as she spoke.

The women glanced at the guards holding Tara. They adjusted their grip and hauled Tara off her feet, pulling her away.

"I am not kidding." Tara called back to the woman, already her mood had become quite sour and she just about had enough. She almost felt like vocalizing her displeasure, but knew that throwing a childish tantrum would get her nowhere at the moment, so she shoved it down as far as possible.

They led her from that room back into a hallway, and into another that led to the holding block. When they reached her cell, they reached down to undo her cuffs. She pulled her hands forward and started to rub her wrists. They had become sore after struggling against them when she saw her sister.

The guards were surrounding her, blocking her exit as the man who unlocked her cuffs unlocked the door of the cell. It was a solid metal door, no lock or handle on the inside, just a small hatch for food and water and a window with embedded wire mesh. He held the door open for her.

Tara kept her mouth shut, feeling if she opened it nothing nice would come out and she didn't want to give anyone some sort of satisfaction. So she just placed her hands in her pockets and walked in. The door was firmly shut behind her and locked. Looking out the window, she could see the four armed guards standing in a line front of it, their backs turned away from the door.

_Guess there's no getting out, but it doesn't mean I can't try_ , Tara thought to herself. She moved over to the bed and sat down then proceeded to come up with an escape plan.


	10. Chapter 10

Tara had laid down on the bed after thinking for awhile. Out the corner of her left eye something caught her attention. Sitting up straight to look she found an air vent three feet off the ground and was big enough for someone to fit through. She wasn't there for even an hour and already she found her escape route. She smiled as she crossed the room to see how to remove the grating. It easily slid out of place and Tara's smile grew as she slipped inside, replaced the grating and quietly made her way through the ventilation system. When she was about twenty to thirty feet into the vents, suddenly an alarm went off. She paused momentarily and figured somebody finally noticed she was gone. Shrugging it off she continued on through the vents. Steel gates suddenly slid down and locked themselves, trapping Tara from both sides and blocking her only exits.

"Dammit!" She kicked at the steel gates then suddenly regretted her outburst.

"Hello Tara." The familiar voice of Catherine's handler echoed through the vents. "Did you really think it would be that easy?" He didn't pause for her answer. "Anyway, a path will be opened for you to return to your cell momentarily. If you choose not to return on your own accord, we will simply gas you out. Your choice." After that the speaker went silent.

"With what gas? There's no other filtration system in here."

 

"Chloroform."

"Oh how lovely." Tara crossed her arms as she slumped against the side of the air vent with a loud thump.

"You have sixty seconds to choose." He warned.

"I hate you and I hope you all burn in hell for your misdeeds."

There was only silence on the other end.

"Didn't mother ever tell you it's rude not answer people when someone is talking to you? Anyway." She popped the collar of her sweatshirt and zipped it up. "You underestimate the power a Time Lord has. We can hold our breath for a really long time. Bring on the gas asshat!" She took a deep breath and held it and covered her face with her coat.

 

Suddenly, the air that had been flowing through the vents where Tara sat was shut off, and there was the sound of certain vents being completely shut off to bypass her. Tara crossed her arms and legs as she sat against the side of the vent, having no intentions on moving any time soon. They would have to drag her out once they got tired of waiting. Slowly, the gas seeped into the area Tara had holed herself up in. Tara gave a simple eye roll as they tried to gas her out, thinking they were in for a pretty long wait before they'd have to shut it off and send someone in to get her. In the meantime, she made herself comfortable in the area she was stuck in.

 

The gas ran for around five minutes straight before finally shutting off. Tara raised a questioning eyebrow wondering if that was it, her posture relaxing ever so slightly. However, the regular air did not start circulating again.

_Shit_. Tara thought to herself. _I'm stuck here for awhile, I'll need to breathe sooner or later._

Eventually, things just turned into a waiting game as to who would give in first. Like Tara had said earlier, Time Lords can hold their breath for a long time but not forever. After around thirty minutes Tara started feeling light headed and had to keep herself from falling over. The need for air though grew, her lungs burned with the need to breathe. She tried to stick it out a little longer, but due to the lack of oxygen Tara keeled over and fainted hitting the floor of the vent rather hard. The loud thump echoed through the entire ventilation system, alerting her pursuers to her situation.

Before Tara completely passed out, she took a deep breath in. Her world fell into a haze as she breathed in the chloroform and managed to get out one smartass remark. "Looks like I'll be dragged out."

Later on, Tara finally came to back in her cell. She found herself on her back in the middle of the floor, she slowly started to sit up as her head spun. "What hit me? Oh yeah." She looked over to the air vent as she got to her feet. There was now a thick steel grate covering the entrance of the vent.

Tara shrugged as she went to lie down on the bed, curling into a small, tight ball. Suddenly her stomach started turning, violently at that. Having been there for a day, Tara found that she had a bathroom sectioned off from the rest of her cell. Getting to her feet as quick as she could she rushed to the bathroom. Neglecting to shut the bathroom door, a loud, slightly unsettling sound came from the bathroom as her system got rid of the chloroform the best way it could.

"I do hope you've regained consciousness by now." Catherine's handler's voice sounded in her cell yet again. "Not feeling so well, are we?"

 

Tara took her time leaving the bathroom, washing her mouth out and taking a deep breath before walking out and laying back down. "It's a negative reaction to any form of anesthetic after years of being sedated so fuck off."

"Alright then. I hope you don't have any more escape attempts in mind, because if so, then things may get a bit more unpleasant for you."

"How unpleasant?"

"Use your imagination."

"My mind is a pile of shit right now. Pretend I'm five and explain it to me so I can weigh my options."

"You'll see. Anyway, your lunch will be coming soon. Goodbye." At that the line cut itself off.

Tara rolled her eyes as she turned over, curling even tighter on herself. As he had mentioned, her lunch was slid inside about ten-fifteen minutes later, consisting of a plain hamburger, baby carrots, a bottle of water, and some chips. By that time, Tara's stomach had calmed down a bit. She ate her lunch and tried to spare the water bottle as much as she could, laying down a bit longer and eventually dozed off. 

******

Bouncing back from being gassed and holding her breath for a long time took Tara around three days. After feeling better Tara had an idea for how to try and get out a second time. As far as she knew, people thought she still wasn't feeling well. Knowing they didn't want her dead yet she used that to her advantage and was rather dramatic about it. She stood in the middle of her cell and started to fake a coughing fit.

"Oh no, I think the chloroform reached it poisonous state. Hearts are going dangerously slow and everything's going black. I don't think-" She cut herself off as she dropped to the floor and held her breath.

It took a second for the guards outside to notice that Tara had dropped to the ground, but they seemed a bit agitated when one of them did. Soon, the sound of a key in the lock greeted Tara's ears as two of them opened it to check on her. Tara couldn't believe they fell for her little show, she was sure it was a bit of over kill. She cracked an eye open to see how close one of them were when they entered her cell. One of them was quite close, close enough that she could touch him if she chose. Tara gave a tiny smile while still trying to play dead. Knowing that he'd have to check for a pulse she waited just a little longer. As she had presumed, he squatted down next to her to check for her pulse, his friend standing not too far away.

In a flash Tara released her breath, grabbed him by the wrist and slammed him to the ground. "Surprise bitch!"

As soon as he hit the ground, the other guards sprang into action, drawing their guns on Tara. With her own strength and the adrenaline rush mixed with it Tara was able to move fast and take them all down and took off down the hall. As she was sprinting down the halls, someone must've seen her and pulled an alarm, because soon the hallways were filled with a loud ringing. The sound of the alarm only encouraged her to move faster, and that's exactly what she did.

Meanwhile, several agents had been dispatched to intercept her and return her to her cell. Tara back tracked through the halls, going the way she came when she was brought there. Quickly, she froze, the sound of footsteps coming towards her ahead, moving fairly quickly. Turning back wasn't an option and there was nowhere else to go. She was trapped. Thinking quick though she managed to get herself out of sight by scaling the wall and getting herself as close to the ceiling as possible.

Not moments after she had herself sprawled across the ceiling holding herself up, they quickly passed underneath her, giving no notion that she was there. Tara silently pleaded for them not to look up. Her arms started shaking from trying to keep herself in place. She all but begged for them to leave and be out of sight. She relaxed a bit as soon as they rounded the corner. She waited a little longer to be sure that they were gone before dropping to the ground and taking off in the opposite direction.

As she ran, Tara turned to check behind her to make sure no one had seen her. Suddenly, before she could look back, she ran full force into someone, knocking herself and the other person back. The force of the impact was enough to knock her off her feet. After guesstimating her time she scrambled to get to her feet and run in the other direction.

Before she could run, a hand grabbed her by the back of her shirt. "Going somewhere?"

Tara gave a surprised yelp as she tried to get herself free. "Let go of me."

When Tara reached back to free the hand from her shirt, Catherine grabbed her wrist and quickly twisted her arm behind her back, pinning her.

Tara let out a pained yelp at the sudden sharpness in her arm.

"Recess is over. Time to go back." Catherine shoved her forwards.

"No! I'm not going back, I made a promise to somebody and I intend to keep it." Tara tried as hard as she could to keep herself from moving.

Catherine merely twisted her arm a touch harder before forcing her forwards.

Tara let out another yelp, about ready to drop to her knees. "Let go of me!"

This time she twisted Tara's arm viciously hard, practically hauling Tara off her feet.

She yelped again. "Stop doing that it hurts."

"Then move."

Tara really didn't want to but at the same time she didn't want her arm twisted even more. After weighing her options she started moving. As Catherine marched her back down the hall, they passed a couple of agents who seemed quite amused by Tara's current situation. Tara gave them a rather dirty look as they passed by them. Catherine kept her moving. Paying no attention to the onlookers. As they walked Tara wondered if this was what the man she had met had meant by things may get a bit unpleasant. She mused that it was possible. Soon, they arrived back at her cell, fresh guards waiting for them as one held the door open.

"Where'd the others go? I thought for sure they'd be waiting."

"That's not really the largest of your problems at the moment." Catherine commented. "There will be consequences for your repeated escape attempts."

"It was only twice. How soon do you plan to try and punish me?"

"It won't be me."

"Who will it be then?"

"I wasn't told." Catherine handed Tara over to one of the guards. "But it will be soon." With that she took her leave.

"How soon?" Tara's hearts started to pound in her chest.

Catherine just kept walking.

"Oh I don't like this. I really don't like this." She turned her attention to one of the guards and repeated herself. "How soon?"

He shrugged and led her inside.

"That's not comforting."

"That's not my problem." He let go of her near the middle of the room before exiting, the door closing and locking behind him.

"No it's not." Tara muttered under her breath as she rubbed at her sore arm and began pacing the room, a habit she had when she was anxious.

******

Several days had gone by since Tara was kidnapped, she formulated several escape plans but each time they had been unsuccessful. She was sitting on the floor and leaned against the wall, one of her legs were pulled close to her chest and her fingers tapped away on her knee, she was trying to come up with another escape plan.  The sound of a key in the lock made her jump. The door swung open, revealing an unarmed guard and her usual four armed ones.

She slowly rose to her feet, she stuck her hands in her pockets and leaned against the wall as she spoke. "Hello boys, what brings you here?"

There was the sound of few footsteps and then she came into view. Clad in her usual black bodysuit, Catherine clasped her hands in front of her. Her expression was cold, and just the slightest bit hostile.

Tara gave her the same smile she gave to one of the guards when she first got there. "Hello." She pulled one of her hands out and gave a small wave before putting it back. "How are you today?"

She sighed, obviously not in the mood. She glanced over at the man who had unlocked the door. He nodded and Catherine stepped forwards.  Tara straightened, her smile slowly vanished. Something didn't feel right, she just couldn't put her finger on it.

Catherine spoke. "Because of your repeated escape attempts, you are to be moved. I'm here to escort you."

Tara gave a weary look. "Okay."

Catherine held her hand out and the man placed a pair of handcuffs in them. Tara let out a small sigh before turning around and placing both hands behind her, she didn't want to give Catherine any problems today. Snapping the cuffs around her wrists Catherine marched Tara out the door, handing her over to the guards. They led Tara down the hallway, the same path and the same formation as before, this time with Catherine following behind.

_Please come to your senses soon Catherine_ , she thought even though she knew it was possibly hopeless.

They entered the room where Catherine had been when they first brought her there. The only difference was the capsule was empty and almost everyone in the room's focus was on her. And instead of continuing down the hallway, they began to turn into the room.  Just like before Tara's eyes grew larger in size and slowly she started to drag her feet, trying her best to dig her heels into the ground. She felt her hearts pounding in her chest as well. The man leading her forward was struggling to keep a hold of her, and Catherine stepped forwards and clamped her hand around Tara's arm, her grip like a vice, and began to drag Tara forwards towards the capsule.

"Let go of me! I am not getting in that thing!"

"Yes you are." Catherine put plainly. "You brought this on yourself."

"Catherine please, don't make me." Tara had a pleading look.

Catherine sighed as several people in lab coats came forward to help Catherine restrain Tara. Her hand cuffs were taken off and at least two people had a hold of each arm.

Tara shouted her discontent and started making empty threats. "Get your damn hands off me!" Her words eventually drifted into another language that no one could understand as she made her threats.

 

Catherine had let go of Tara when the others had her and had backed away, taking in the scene before her with an unfeeling expression as Tara was dragged backwards to the open capsule.

Tara continued speaking in her own language before slipping back to English again. "Let go of me!" She struggled against everyone's grip.

They eventually got her arms pinned onto the table in the stasis chamber. Automatic restraints clamped themselves around Tara's wrists. Once her wrists were secured, they fought to pin down her legs as well.

Tara kept up her threats. "If I ever get my hands on any of you at all, you will have gone through hell and back!" Tara pulled at her restraints almost hoping something would give even though she knew nothing would.

 

Eventually, one leg got pinned down and clamped, then the other. Catherine was still staring, almost numb to what was going on around her.

Tara started pulling with a little more force, but it was useless. So as a last ditch effort she shouted. "Catherine please! Don't let them do this!" She looked over at Catherine, a hint of fear was in her eyes.

Catherine's eyes had locked with hers and suddenly she felt like she was going to be sick. A chill went down her spine and her face drained of almost all it's color.

Fear slowly took the place of Tara's anger the longer her gaze was on Catherine. "Please." She quietly begged her.

For a second it seemed like Catherine was about to cave, but then her gaze dropped from Tara's. She clenched her jaw, then swiftly turned around and walked away. She was confused. If this woman was supposed to be her enemy, she thought, then why was her pain upsetting her?

"Catherine!" Tara suddenly felt like a child as she called after her sister and felt that it must've been an instinctive thing now even though she hardly saw her sister anymore.

Suddenly, a plastic medical gas mask was placed over her mouth and nose and held there.  With each breath Tara started to feel herself slowly give. Both hearts slowed until they were close to normal, her breathing was almost even and her straining against the clamps started to stop. When she was fully calmed down, the mask was taken off and she could hear the faint sound of buttons being pressed and the lid slowly began to close. She barely had the energy to say anything more, and as she fought to stay awake Tara could feel herself drift off little by little until she was gone.


	11. Chapter 11

Catherine moved quickly down the hallway, walking as quietly as she could, trying not to bring the guards that were looking for her in this direction. Though she knew they weren't stupid, they knew she'd go for her sister, but she was willing to risk it. Stopping at each corner, she peeked around, and when she couldn't detect anyone, kept moving. Peeking around once more, Catherine caught sight of two guards patrolling the hallway that led to where they were keeping Tara. Quickly, she pulled her head back around and pulled out two disks that she threw around the corner and landed at each guards feet. They didn't have much time before the disks struck out and electrocuted both, dropping them to the ground. Catherine ran out from behind the corner and down the hallway, leaping over the unconscious guards. She skidded to a halt in front of Tara's holding chamber that once held her. Scanning the controls, she took a minute to examine them before flipping the required dials and switches. The chamber quickly evacuated of the anesthetic and the lid flipped open. Catherine hurried over to Tara's side.  
  
As Tara began to come around, she made little contented noises. Her eyes eventually opening, her vision was blurred but she was able to make out Catherine's shape. Her vision finally focused enough for her to see Catherine better. She smiled a little as she said. "Hello stranger."  
  
Catherine smiled. "Hey there. Come on, we've got to go." She held out a hand to help Tara out.  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"Anywhere but here."  
  
"Sounds good to me."  
  
There was the sound of several pairs of booted feet coming from one end of the hallway, then the other. Catherine froze. Then with one arm she gently pushed Tara behind her. "Stay behind me." She said.  
  
"I'll try." Tara tried to balance herself on slightly wobbly legs.  
  
Armed guards flooded into the open space, surrounding the both of them. Catherine's expression hardened as she went instictually into survival mode, her arm still placed protecting Tara.  
  
Catherine's handler was standing a safe distance away from her at the front of the group, flanked by several more guards. He had donned a protective Kevlar vest, but still held an air of diplomacy and authority. "Easy." He spoke carefully, as if trying to calm a cornered animal. "There's no need for this to get out of hand."  
  
Catherine growled, but quietly, so that Tara was the only person close enough to hear it. "I will NOT be your weapon any more." She put plainly.  
  
"Catherine." Tara muttered. "Don't give him satisfaction in showing your anger."  
  
"Trust me Tara." Catherine said to her without taking her eyes off of him. "My anger won't satisfy him, if anything, it will make him nervous, seeing as his job is to keep me calm and contained."  
  
"Well he's doing a shoddy job at it. Rule one with us, don't ever mess with our family." Tara smiled a little to herself.  
  
"I'm sure he's doing his best. Tara, I don't like the outlook of this. Even if I tried, I don't know if I could take all of these guards at once."  
  
Tara only responded with a nervous sound.  
  
Catherine's handler came a few steps closer. Catherine's hand flew to the colt strapped to her thigh. "Don't." She warned. "You know I'm an excellent shot."  
  
He stopped, raising his hands a little before putting them back down when Catherine relaxed a fraction.  
  
"Like you said, you can't take us all at once, so just come quietly and no one has to get hurt."  
  
"So you can wipe my memory again and stick me in a stasis chamber? No thanks."  
  
He sighed, then his gaze shifted to Tara. "Looking a little wobbly there dear." He said.  
  
"I've been given a daily dose of anesthetics, you really think I'll be able to stand up straight?"  
  
He smiled a touch, a few of the guards closest to her cocking their weapons and aiming them at her. Catherine spun around, an angry look passing over her face before she turned back to her handler. "Just what do you think you're doing? Get your damn guns out of her face!"  
  
"Then I suggest you surrender."  
  
Catherine took a deep breath, her inhale and exhale shaking with anger.  
  
"Well that's a bit unfair, I'm unarmed. Oh no wait, I have two." Tara held up both arms and laughed a little at her own bad joke. "I'm tired can you tell?"  
  
Catherine had to catch her when she tripped over her own feet in her laughter.  
  
Once she recollected herself, Tara had a bit of a small smile. "Hello again. That was a really bad joke, I'm surprised I even laughed."  
  
"It's okay." Catherine consoled her.  
  
Her handler had a different idea. "If you stand down, she won't get hurt."   
  
Catherine let go of Tara, making sure she stayed upright and spun around to face him. "You wouldn't dare."  
  
"Your choice."  
  
"Don't I get a say in this?" Tara asked. "I feel like chopped liver over here. But then again I don't think I'd provide much." She yawned a little. "I'm loopy as hell right now. And not too long ago I predicted how long I have until I'm gone again. Anyone want to know my prediction?"  
  
No one answered her.  
  
"I'll tell you anyways." She placed both hands behind her back. "For the past couple of...days? Weeks? Anyway I've been bombarded with anesthetics, this you all know. From the moment I woke up a clock has been ticking. I estimated that I had at least two to five minutes before the anesthetics took hold of me once more. And just so you all know, it's been five minutes miraculously I'm still standing. Your question might be how." She shrugged. "Not even I know, but I do know one thing. I have three seconds left. Two, one. I'm going back to sleep now, goodnight." Tara's eyes closed and she began to collapse.  
  
Catherine rushed towards her catching her underneath the arms just before she hit the floor, making sure to catch her head as well.  
  
The man took advantage of her temporary disadvantage. "Take her." He ordered. At least fifteen guards rushed forwards, trying to pull Catherine away from Tara while she was trying to lay her down. They caught her around the arms, and immediately once Catherine knew Tara was safe, her training kicked in. Striking out, she felled one guard after another, but even so, she was slowly being overwhelmed by the number of guards that were flooding in.  
  
"Let go of me!" Catherine protested, pulling hard against her captors and kicking. "Tara!"  
  
The anesthetics hadn't pulled Tara back far enough, she was still very aware of her surroundings. Forcing her eyes opened, most of what Tara saw was a blur but she could make out Catherine's familiar shape as she did her best to pick her head up. "Catherine." She wanted to move, to help her, but she felt weaker than a new born kitten to do anything.  
  
Catherine ceased struggling. "Please, just don't hurt her." She implored as her handler stepped in front of her.  
  
"She'll be taken care of." He assured her. Suddenly, a white hot prick alerted Catherine to a needle being inserted into her neck.  
  
"No." Tara muttered, she rolled on to her side and began to try and push herself up.  
  
As soon as the needle was removed Catherine's eyes began to slip closed and her head fell to her chest. Those holding her adjusted their grips to support her now dead weight.  
  
"Catherine." Tara's arms shook underneath her, unable to support her own weight they buckled under her and she collapsed back down to the ground.  
  
Catherine was swiftly removed, along with her handler and most of the guards, leaving only two to replace Tara back into her stasis chamber. Tara rolled onto her backside once more, an overwhelming sense of defeat coming over her. Suddenly she was being lifted, and carried back towards the stasis chamber, the second guard following behind.  
  
Tara squirmed trying her best to get out of the guard's hold. "Put me down."  
  
She didn't get a response, just closer to the dreaded chamber. She stopped her squirming, she suddenly had an idea though it seemed a bit childish at the time. Ever so slowly she brought a hand up, and in a flash she jabbed a finger in his eye not covered by the black patch. He shouted, dropping her into a heap on the floor and reaching up to his wounded eye. The second guard stepped forward.  
  
At the time, she didn't feel the pain that shot through her side. Looking up at him she gave a bit of a satisfied smile. "Never trust a girl time lord who has claws."  
  
He growled and quickly departed to nurse his wound. Instead, his friend stepped up to deal with Tara. "You'll have to excuse him, he's a bit touchy." He said, kneeling down.  
  
She shrugged a little. "Oh well, don't touch me either." She tried to sound threatening.  
  
"I'm afraid I'll have to." He said, though his tone didn't sound at all apologetic.  
  
"I can and will do what I did again."  
  
"I wouldn't recommend it."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Otherwise I'd have to take measures to keep you from harming me. And we wouldn't want that, now would we?"  
  
"May I guess what these means would be?" She didn't wait for an answer. "Said means would be sedating me even more than I already am, and if not that then it'd be something else."  
  
"Correct. So, ready to come quietly?"  
  
"I have a feeling I don't have a choice, considering I can't move more than an inch without using whatever strength and energy I've got left."

"That's what I thought." He went to help pick her up.

Tara's stomach suddenly started turning. "Oh no, not now. Anytime but now." Before he had time to pick her up off the ground Tara turned onto her side and held tight to her stomach.

He looked slightly concerned. "What's wrong?"

"My systems developed a negative reaction to anesthetics. I become violently sick after waking up. You have two minutes to go find something for me to throw up in, I suggest you hurry."

He seemed slightly skeptical but still stood, walking a short distance before finding a small trashcan that Tara could use.

Tara got herself to sit up and reached out to take it from him. Once she had it, everything proceeded to work in reverse and an awful sound came with it.

As she relieved herself, the agent stood off to the side, looking none too pleased. After a few minutes Tara's stomach had finally calmed down and she was able to catch her breath. "Well that sucked."

"Oh good, you're done." He took the trashcan and put it back. "Now, I need to finish what I was doing here."

"Hey, don't expect a big fight from me. I want to take nap anyway."

"Finally." He bent down to help her up, lifting her by her right arm.

She stood on shaky legs, her head spinning slightly as she was taken back to the stasis chamber. The agent had to practically carry her over and lift her inside before tying her back down. Like before Tara tugged at her bonds even though it was pointless. She sighed a little as her eyes slipped shut. The lid was closed and sealed, locking Tara inside once more as the sedative cycled through.


	12. Chapter 12

Two weeks had gone by and Tara hadn't come back to the Tardis. Even though Tara admitted to always running late when coming back, Jess was still worried about her and decided to take matters into her own hands by taking her sister's advice and seeking out the Doctor. It took quite a bit to find him, as he could've been anywhere in the Tardis at the time. Tara had mentioned a helpful tip that he could be found in the console room fixing something and took a chance looking there. She was correct, as he was currently fiddling with the electronics under the console.

"Doctor?" She sounded a little nervous, never having to talk with him alone before. "A word please?"

He paused, glancing over at her briefly before getting up. "Oh, Jessica, is it?"

"No, Jezebel. Jess for short, surely Tara's mentioned that before."

"So sorry, Jezebel. What's bothering you?" He looked concerned.

"Um, Tara's been gone quite awhile. Don't you think maybe someone should go find her?"

He paused, his expression going from one of casual conversation to that of a concerned parent. "You're right. I should check and see where she is." He nodded past her and up the stairs to the control console, connecting to the device in Tara's necklace.

"She thought her necklace would be useful I can't remember if she said how though."

"There's a tracking device in it." He responded, still searching.

"Oh, that's kind of a bit weird actually. She's okay with that?"

"Yep. She knows about it and can take it off whenever she chooses."

"Well that's handy." She paused a moment. "Have you found her yet?"

He looked very concerned. "Yes, but it's indicating that she hasn't moved in over twelve hours."

"Tara said it would send an alert right away if she hasn't moved in that long. Why didn't it go off?"

"I'm not sure, perhaps something is messing with the electronics." He moved around the console. "I'm going to go get her, something's obviously gone wrong."

"Wrong how?" Jess couldn't hide the worry in her tone.

"If there is something interfering with the electronics, then she's probably not in a very good place. Especially since she was just going for a walk."

"You'll still be able to save her though right?"

"I can certainly try." He began to start the engines.

"Well then you'll have to try hard. Family is important with us. Some more than others."

"I know, she is my daughter after all." The engines started to groan as they took off.

"And blood or not she's my sister."

"I understand your concern."

"I know you do, where are we going?"

"To bring her home."

"No I mean, where are we?"

As soon as they landed he checked the scanner, his expression falling. "You should stay inside."

"Why? Doctor, where are we?"

"Just stay inside please. I should be back in twenty to thirty minutes, okay?"

"And if you're not? What then, what do you expect us to do?"

"Stay here, no matter what."

"You're a little sketchy sometimes, but if Tara trusts you then I do too. We'll stay put, promise."

He sighed. "Thank you." He said before turning and slipping out.

"Bring her back safe." Her voice was barely above a whisper as she turned and left the console room.

He eventually found out where she was and soon enough he was in the same building but not the same room as her. After awhile the Doctor searched almost the entire building. He had passed the entry way to yet another room when something inside caught his eye. A capsule, about the size for a person, lay in the middle of the darkened room. It was enough to capture and hold his attention, walking in he easily found a way to turn on the lights.What he saw in the capsule surprised him. Tara was in there and the only signs that she was still alive were the monitors keeping track of her vitals and the steady rise and fall of her chest.

"Oh god Tara, what did they do to you?" He immediately set to work at opening the chamber.

Once the Doctor emptied the chamber of the anesthetics that cycled through, the chamber started to open and the clamps around Tara's wrists and ankles came undone.

"Of course they had to restrain you." He commented as he began to ease her out and she began to come around.

Little sounds came from her as she stirred, her eyes slowly opened, everything was a haze, but she was able to make out the shape of her own father. "Dad? Have to leave. Leave me." Her words started to slur together and that's all she was able to get out.

"Shh..." He consoled her as he set her feet on the ground. "I'm not going to leave you and you know that."

A little unable to keep herself upright, she had to hold onto to him as she spoke. "You have to, trap set up. Need to leave now."

"I am not leaving you here with these people." He kept a stabilizing grip with his arm around her back and supporting under her right arm.

"Listen to me, not a choice. Have to or else Cath." That was all Tara could say before her legs gave out on her.

"Whoa." The Doctor had to move fast to catch her. "Cath?"

"Fine I'm fine, they have her."

"What?" His tone changed from comforting to completely shocked.

"Go, before they get here. Wasting time, leave me, find way out on my own."

He shook his head once more. "No."

"Not a choice, go."

That's when several people round the corner, along with the man who had talked to her when she first got there, and a few of her less than friendly guards.

Tara leaned her head on the Doctor's shoulder. "Told you so."

Suddenly, the small army parted. For a second, Tara actually thought they were going to let them through, but when a woman walked through her hearts sank. Catherine didn't even seem interested in her, her hostile gaze pinned directly on the Doctor as her hand landed on the gun in the holster strapped to her thigh.

Tara's grip tightened around the Doctor. "Catherine, please." She breathed out.

She could tell Catherine was itching to pull out her gun and shoot him, but for some reason she didn't.

Tara gave a bit of a mocking smile. "I bet you really want to. What's holding you back then? The Catherine I know doesn't wait for orders. You're not her, not right now anyways. You're just a good little soldier, aren't you?"

Catherine's jaw clenched, and the beginnings of a snarl were forming on her face. Her hand wrapped even tighter around the handle of her gun, until her knuckles began to turn white.

"You just do what you're told, well behaved and just wait. Waiting and waiting until you get the go ahead. Then what? You shoot him and possibly me since my use is no longer needed?"

Catherine's grip relaxed, as did she. Her anger was replaced with cold honesty. "Yes."

"But you're just waiting to do it. What are you waiting for, little soldier?" Tara was trying her hardest to keep her head up at this point.

"I'm waiting for you to stop talking." She turned to the man Tara had met. "What did they say?"

He touched his earpiece. It took a minute, but he got a response. "They want to keep the girl here, otherwise you can proceed."

"This girl has a name, why keep me? I thought I was done and you'd want me gone."

The man answered. "You can still be of some use."

"Pretend I'm five and explain it to me."

"I don't have to." With that, he turned and left, taking the guards with him.

"Selfish bastard." Tara mumbled under her breath.

The only person left to watch them was Catherine.

Tara let go of the Doctor and tried to move forward, she staggered a bit but she managed. "What did he mean that I can still be of some use?"

"You'll find out eventually."

"I'd rather know now."

"I wouldn't be able to tell you."

"Of course not, because you're a good little soldier."

"Will you stop saying that. I'm not saying that I can't tell you, I'm saying that I don't know."

"Oh, so for once the obedient soldier doesn't know. That's new, but I don't mind." Tara swayed a little from one side to the other, showing signs of passing out any minute. "Tell me something. Why do you hate dad so much? What did he ever do to you to cause that much hate?"

"I never asked. I'm just following orders, or as you like to put it, being a good little soldier." Her thumb pushed back the strap holding her gun in place and her fingers wrapped around the handle. 

"Well, technically you are. But what's your reason? Besides what they probably told you, what did they tell you? That he's a threat? Now I'm curious to know."

"I never asked. And they never said."

"Dad you might want to be right behind me, I'm going to be slipping any minute. So without being given a reason as to why they think dad should die, aren't you just the tiniest bit curious? I think I would be, but that's just me. God knows what's going through your head."

"Dad?"

"Yup, mine and yours." Tara turned to look over her shoulder. "I'm not kidding by the way, two minutes tops." She turned to look at Catherine. "Sorry what was I saying? Oh yes, he's your dad too, and guess what? You're my sister. Bet you didn't see that coming."

"You're lying." Catherine's expression hardened.

"Why would I lie?" Tara's tone genuinely sounded hurt.

"You're just trying to save his skin, along with yours, because trust me dear, whatever they have planned for you, it isn't pleasant."

Tara gave a small yawn. "Well, yes and no. What did they do up there? Oh, stupid I'm so stupid. Drugged or not I'm so stupid."

"And why's that?"

Tara smiled a little. "Because I just realized what they did. Well I was told but I must not have been paying attention. I'm told I do that quite a lot."

"And what exactly do you think they did?"

"Just about everything's gone up here." Tara tapped the side of her own head. "One of them said they wiped your memory clean, the only thing you remember is your own name and how to fight."

"I also remember how to kill him." Catherine whipped out her gun, pointing it straight at Tara's head. "Move." She growled.

"I'd say no, but I don't have a choice. Want to know why? It's been two minutes, goodnight." Tara gave a small smile and tiny wave before completely falling backwards.

The Doctor caught her underneath her arms and gently eased her to the floor.

Catherine watched her fall, and instead of pulling the trigger, she hesitated. That tug in her gut was back again and it was driving her nuts.

After making sure Tara would be okay, the Doctor looked up at Catherine and noticed her hesitation.

"Catherine." He started. "Are you alright?" That touch of concern was in his voice, even now when one of his daughters was pointing a gun at him. Though, it wasn't the first time one of them turned on him.

"Don't call me that." Catherine growled, though he could tell her anger was just a facade. Right now, she was just trying to remember her training, but he could tell her hand was starting to shake. Especially when she fired and missed.

He calmly rose to his feet. "Can we talk? Without weapons?"

"About what?" She snapped. "Like how you managed to get in here? Or why, despite my wanting to, I can't bring myself to kill you?!" Catherine eyed him suspiciously, mixed expressions crossing her face, including anger.

"Sure let's start with the second one. Why can't you bring yourself to do it?" He placed his hands behind his back. 

"Don't you dare try that on me. I know what you're doing, I was told not to let you talk."

"Alright I won't. And I do believe they were right to tell you that. Tara normally tunes me out anyway, you used to do it too." He gave a small smile.

"No, I didn't, because I never knew you. Now stop lying." She took another step closer, her hand beginning to stabilize.

The Doctor sighed. "Oh Catherine." He muttered under his breath.

"Now, before I shoot you, tell me how you managed to break in here."

"You of all people should know. The Tardis helped me get in."

"And where is it?"

"Don't remember the exact place, been wandering these halls for so long."

"Well then, I suggest you think real hard." Catherine smiled maliciously.

"I believe you're right." Earlier when the Doctor caught Tara as she collapsed, the sleeve of her shirt had moved up and he caught a glimpse at something strapped to her left wrist. He didn't have to guess at what it was, after he laid her down he rolled up her sleeve a little more and put in a few coordinates, just in case something went south. In a flash he was on his knees by Tara's side and punched one last button.

This caught Catherine by surprise, and she fired two rounds in vain, but they had already gone. All the rounds met with was thin air. She growled in frustration, reholstering her weapon before taking off down the hallway. She burst through the doors of the main control room.

"Do a scan for advanced tech!"

No one moved.

"Now!" She yelled, scaring everyone into overdrive.

The Doctor moved fast around the controls, trying to get out of that building as fast as possible. It wasn't until he pulled one final lever and the time rotor started going that he began to relax a little. He then moved to lift Tara and carry her to her room.

She began to stir a little, looking up at him she asked. "What'd I miss? Where are we?"

The scanners beeped frantically, but the signal was fading.

"Go! Now!" Catherine was trying to hustle the guards down the hallway, her running closely behind. As they rounded the corner, they could see the faintest image of the Tardis dematerializing and then it was gone. Catherine stopped in her tracks, her face hard. "This isn't over." She whispered angrily.

Tara felt a small pit in her stomach. Seeing Catherine again brought back old feelings and memories. She couldn't stop the tears welling in her eyes and falling out.

"Tara?" The Doctor stopped what he was doing and moved over to her, trying his best to be comforting. "I know, but we'll get her back, I promise." 

She took a deep breath. "I know."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "She's still your sister, even if she can't remember it. Tara, all is not lost, you know, she couldn't even shoot me."

"So that's what I missed. That answers one question, how did we get here? The Tardis must've been hidden in that building somewhere, you'd never leave her in plain sight."

"Yes."

"So then how'd we get back?"

"Used the vortex manipulator you thieved from me to get back to the Tardis."

"I didn't thieve it, I borrowed it. I planned on giving it back." She yawned a little, the drugs still working their way out of her system.

"You need to sleep those anesthetics off, okay?" He laid her down in her bed. "I'll be doing some repairs, as always. Call if you need me, okay?"

Tara gave a sigh of defeat. "Okay." She turned over and closed her eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.


End file.
